Patients not 'turfed out' in ward closures - trust

Haslemere Community Hospital has been forced to empty two of its wards

A Surrey hospital has said it is not "turfing anyone out" after the announcement that two wards will close on Thursday.

Instead, the NHS trust has said it is looking at providing for the "future needs of the local population", reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Haslemere Community Hospital is temporarily closing two inpatient wards after a nearby GP surgery announced it could no longer provide doctors to staff them.

The two wards for rehabilitation, made up of 16 beds and largely used by frail adults with complex needs, are being "paused" until replacement medical cover is found.

Dr Bill Jewsbury, medical director at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, said they had been "urgently working to explore alternative options", but had not been able to "identify robust medical cover in the timescale".

Dr Jewsbury said the trust was still working to find an alternative provider, speaking to all doctor surgeries in Waverley and Guildford borough.

Hospital staff have reduced the number of people on the ward to ensure no patient is put on the ward and then has to be moved.

"We're not turfing anyone out," a spokesperson from the trust said. "We're not admitting new patients so we can really focus on looking after the people that are in those beds now well, and getting them home."

The loss of doctors to staff the wards has caused the closure

Instead of the inpatient ward, residents could now stay at the Royal Surrey Hospital, go to one of the extra beds at the Milford community hospital or return home and receive treatment there.

Discussions over the overall running of Haslemere Community Hospital, what it would look like in the future and what the needs of the population are have been ongoing.

"We should get a really much more exciting community hospital," Dr Jewsbury said, "less around beds and much more around services".

These could include outpatient support, maternity and potentially dental work.

Its minor injuries unit could become an urgent treatment centre to provide a broader range of treatment.