Decision on the future of A&E services delayed

A DECISION on the future of A&E services at Weston General Hospital will not be announced until next year.

The emergency room at the Weston-super-Mare hospital, below, has been closed from 10pm to 8am since July 2017.

The nighttime closure came into place after health chiefs said dangerously low staff levels meant they could not man the department safely 24 hours a day. It has been described as a temporary closure while Weston Area Health NHS Trust (WAHT) recruit enough staff.

But almost a year-and-a-half since the move the trust is still struggling to recruit enough permanent staff to reopen the department overnight.

And while a lot of work has been done to recruit consultants and middle-tier level doctors there continues to be a nursing shortage within the emergency department.

The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG) is responsible for making a decision on the future of Weston A&E.

Earlier this year chief executive Julia Ross said no decision had been made on its long-term future and one would be expected in the autumn.

But now the CCG has said a decision won’t be made until after a consultation on the future of health services in the Weston area takes place next year.