Concerns over controversial plans to axe dozens of hospital beds will be passed on to health secretary Jeremy Hunt – after a petition calling on the decision to be ditched gathered 10,000 signatures.
A total of 64 beds at Bradwell Hospital are due to close on December 18 in a move that would see more people treated at their own home or in care home facilities.
However concerns have been raised over the availability of care packages to bridge the gap once the beds are axed.
Now campaigners say there is ‘a glimmer of hope’ after a notion was put forward during a Healthy Staffordshire Select Committee to refer concerns to Mr Hunt. The petition, signed by members of the public and staff at the hospital, was also handed in during the session at Staffordshire County Council’s Stafford base.
The NHS cuts have already led to the closure of 104 beds at Longton, Cheadle and Haywood hospitals.
Irene Sutton, senior staff nurse at Bradwell believes the referral to the health secretary gives hope to staff and patients at the hospital.
The 60-year-old from Fenton said: “It’s a small glimmer of hope that we are being listened to because there has been no proper consultation by the CCGs which is a disgrace.
“Once these beds are closed and staff are moved on it won’t be feasible to re-open them.
“It can’t be a bad thing considering Stoke-on-Trent City Council have voted unanimously to also refer concerns to Jeremy Hunt, I also believe Tristram Hunt has asked for Jeremy Hunt to visit Royal Stoke to look at the situation there.
“It’s a worry for patients. Closing beds is difficult to do at the best of times but to do it in the winter period doesn’t make sense. We are speaking on behalf of the patients, the campaign is about the safety of patients who we fear will come to harm if adequate provision isn’t in place before the beds close.”
Marcus Warnes, Accountable Officer for North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, was at the meeting and took questions from councillors on community beds and the My Care My Way Home First scheme the CCG wants to implement.
Irene said: “Councillors questioned the pace of movement towards closing community beds given that the local authorities haven’t got care packages available to bridge the gap once those beds are closed.
“We are still trying to back the idea of My Care My Way Home, but it’s got to be safe and at the moment we don’t believe that can happen.”
Councillor Charlotte Atkins a longstanding member of the health committee, said: “The North Staffordshire CCG has to be held accountable for its deeply damaging funding decisions on local health care provision.
“They have already closed community hospital beds elsewhere in North Staffordshire without any public consultation despite the requirement to do so. Now beds at Bradwell are due to go over the next few weeks just when winter pressures will put the NHS under even greater strain.
“But it is clear that the necessary community services just do not exist with a shortage of GPs and nurses. The Secretary of State must intervene to stop this decision which will put patients at risk. I expect Leek Hospital to be next on the list for bed closures.”
Marcus Warnes, Accountable Officer for North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said no final decision over beds at Bradwell had been made.
Article originally published by The Sentinel.
