Fewer hospital beds but more home care for town

PLANS to cut in-patient beds at Hinckley’s community hospital on Ashby Road have been defended by health chiefs.

The move, which would see the loss of one of the two wards at the centre, is linked to service changes across the borough, the closure of the ageing Mount Road facility and a £7.7 million investment in modern facilities.

While one ward would shut at Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital the space would be remodelled to provide a new endoscopy suite, new theatre and day case beds.

This would replace services lost from the Victorian cottage hospital which the NHS say is “not fit for purpose”.

At the same time increased access to urgent care is proposed with a primary care hub at the Hinckley Health Centre on Mount Road as well as X-ray provision.

Caroline Trevithick, chief nurse and quality lead for West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “I understand how people are concerned about the loss of community hospital beds and I know it is going to be a big change.

“We have an increasing elderly population and if you only rely on a hospital beds model you can only care for that specific number of patients at any one time.

“By improving care in the community you are not constrained by bed numbers and you are looking after people in their own home, where they want to be, surrounded by the things and people who familiar to them.”

The in-patient provision at Sunnyside caters for people discharged from acute hospitals who may need rehabilitation, physiotherapy or occupational therapy, before being able to manage at home.

It also offers nursing for palliative and end of life care as well as stroke sufferers. This provision will continue.

Caroline said: “We know we can offer rehabilitation to people in their own homes and surely it’s better to help them tackle their own stairs or get around in their own kitchen.

“And in terms of changing to community care this is about are people changing the way they work. If there is support from all quarters this could happen quite quickly but there will not be a gap in services, the staff will be ready in the community before any beds are closed.”

Significant changes are happening in the NHS across the country as it faces up to a potential £300 billion funding gap by 2020.

All bodies are being asked to review how things are run and deliver a Sustainability and Transformation Plan or STP. This comes alongside work already taking place in Leicestershire with the Better Care Together five-year strategy to reconfigure services, increase efficiencies and save £400 million - the expected shortfall in funding up to 2019 for the NHS in the county.

A public event highlighting issues and proposed changes in Hinckley and Bosworth will take place at Hinckley Golf Club on Leicester Road between 6pm and 9.15pm on Tuesday January 17. To sign up visit www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk/STPevents, email communications@westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk or call 0116 295 4183.

Any plans will have to go out to public consultation before they can be implemented. NHS England have yet to approve the £7.7 million funding.