Cheltenham A&E closure 'saving lives' says health chief

County A&E services are currently centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

The temporary closure of Cheltenham General Hospital's A&E department is "saving lives", a county health chief said.

A&E services were centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital earlier this year as part of the local NHS Trust's response to Covid-19.

Campaigners raised concerns the closure could be made permanent.

Trust chief executive Deborah Lee said the closure was "wholly and only in response to the pandemic".

Ms Lee, who heads up Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said she was "absolutely certain" the move had saved lives.

The temporary closure of Cheltenham's A&E was initially for three months but has been extended until the spring

"Cheltenham did more cancer surgery and cancer care during phase one than any other hospital in the South West," she said.

"That is because we have had to inconvenience 15 to 20 Cheltenham residents a day.

"But the upside is we are treating hundreds of patients with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgeries, CT-scans and MRI. It is about a bigger goal," said Ms Lee.

When Cheltenham's A&E closed earlier this year campaigners expressed concern that the pandemic was being used "for a quiet downgrade" of the hospital.

But the trust said it "remains committed" to its reopening, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"I get the cynics who think this is some stealth," Ms Lee said.

"Let me assure you these changes are wholly and only in response to the pandemic.

'Cast-iron commitment'

"We are saving lives through this approach. I am absolutely certain of that," added Ms Lee.

Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk, who has previously campaigned to secure the future of the town's A&E, said the trust had given him a "cast-iron" commitment that the closure was temporary.

"I take them at their word" he said.

"We don't want Covid to be the pretext for a quiet downgrade, as there simply isn't capacity at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for the whole county.

"I and the people of Cheltenham look forward to A&E reopening at the earliest opportunity."