Dozens protest over plans to cut hospital beds

Hundreds of people came out to protest the bed cuts

Plans to cut all 20 beds at a community hospital and turn it into a neighbourhood health centre "must not happen", staff say.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is considering changes at Crewkerne Community Hospital to increase its range of outpatient services, such as chemotherapy, cardiology and blood transfusions.

Dozens of people attended a protest outside the hospital on Thursday evening, with one member of staff saying the beds were vital to take the pressure off acute centres.

The trust said no final decision has been made on closing beds, but said an expanded range of services would mean fewer people having to travel further to larger hospitals for treatment.

Staff at Crewkerne have said they have already been told about redeployment options and offered shifts shadowing roles at other hospitals.

Michelle Purchase, who has worked at the hospital for 16 years, said: "We can't close these beds, we can't lose them.

"The patients need these beds and so do the acute hospitals to offload into these community beds. This must not happen."

Sandy, who has been an inpatient at Crewkerne for four weeks, said she had received "wonderful care" relatively close to home.

She described those caring for her as "angels in nurses uniforms".

Elsewhere, the trust is also in the early stages of a consultation on reducing beds at the community hospitals in Frome and Bridgwater, and at West Mendip Hospital in Glastonbury.

Protestors say the beds take the pressure off acute hospitals

Sarah Dyke, MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, has raised concerns the cuts could put pressure on acute hospitals and mean people receiving inpatient care far from home.

She is also seeking assurances that staff at the four hospitals "have jobs to go to", adding: "It doesn't feel like they are being consulted and looked after and we've got to ensure their wellbeing".

Andy Heron, the trust's chief operating officer, said that no final decision has been made.

But he said any changes could help shift services from an acute hospital setting into a community setting, which is central top the government's recently published 10-year health plan.

Mr Heron said: "We think there is now an exciting opportunity to make greater use of Crewkerne Community Hospital, which is in the heart of the community, with an expanded range of diagnostic services and treatments which could benefit many more local people, meaning that fewer local residents will need to travel to one of our acute hospitals."