By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Road
The “temporary” downgrading of a Cotswold town hospital has been blasted amid fears the changes will be permanent.
NHS bosses in Gloucestershire say they are making temporary changes to test out the potential benefits of organising some services differently to improve patient care, experience and outcomes and increase efficiency.
They say changes relate to community theatres and beds and will be monitored closely throughout.
But the announcement has been met with strong opposition in Cirencester as the market town’s downgrade has been condemned by
Gloucestershire County Councillor Joe Harris (LD, Cirencester Park)
He believes the decision to pause theatre activity and restructure rehabilitation wards’ at Cirencester Hospital is “yet another downgrade by the backdoor” for a much-loved local service.
Under the plans, all theatre activity at Cirencester Hospital will be suspended for at least six months as part of a “test of change”.
One of the hospital’s two intermediate care wards will also temporarily close to make way for a new complex care unit, reducing the overall number of rehabilitation beds.
While NHS bosses insist the changes are temporary and aimed at improving patient care and efficiency, Cllr Harris has hit out at the lack of public consultation and the risk of further long-term erosion of services.
Cllr Joe Harris said: “Cirencester Hospital is a gem in our Cotswolds crown, yet the NHS bosses continually seem to view it as a dumping ground for endless “temporary” trials and cuts.
“We were told the downgrade of the Minor Injuries Unit in 2016 was a temporary measure and again in 2020 with the blood services.
“Neither were ever reinstated. People haven’t forgotten and they won’t fall for that again.
“There is simply no confidence that this six-month ‘pause’ won’t become permanent by default. We’ve seen this playbook before.”
“These changes might be dressed up as improvements, but the reality is a reduction in local services.
“Patients will be forced to travel further and wait longer. Staff are being shuffled around. Local trust in the system is already fragile and this only makes it worse.”
Cllr Harris is calling on NHS Gloucestershire to guarantee that all services currently paused at Cirencester Hospital will be reinstated after the trial period.
Engage meaningfully wih the local community, staff and patients not just after the fact.
Develop a long-term plan to invest in and expand services at Cirencester Hospital to relieve pressure on overburdened A&E departments in Gloucester and Cheltenham.
“Rather than downgrading services in Cirencester, we should be investing in our community hospitals to keep care close to home and take the pressure off the larger acute hospitals.
“This isn’t how you build a resilient local NHS, it’s how you lose it by a thousand cuts.”
Chief Medical Officer at NHS Gloucestershire, Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram (Raghu) MBE said: “It is important to stress that no plans have been made, or decisions made, about individual services, facilities or sites over the long term. This is about testing out new service models and ways of working.
“We look forward to reviewing the evaluation reports, including the views and experiences of patients.
“The reports will be shared publicly at the end of the trial periods. We will continue to work closely with the county’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”
Health services across the county have faced a steady move towards centralisation in recent years.
Cheltenham is yet to see the Aveta birthing centre reopen despite reassurances its temporary closure will be reversed and Stroud has seen its post natal care beds “temporarily closed”.
Elsewhere, in the Forest of Dean two of its hospitals were closed to make way for a smaller new hospital.