COUNCILLORS have joined campaigners in calling on the NHS not to sell off land at the former Frenchay Hospital for more housing.
Last month the Save Frenchay Community Hospital Group wrote an open letter in the Voice to the new Bristol NHS Trust, urging its leaders not to “abandon” the site, after plans for a rehabilitation unit were scrapped.
A community hospital was promised when the decision to transfer acute services from the old Frenchay Hospital to Southmead was taken in 2005.
But by the time the hospital closed in 2014, the plan had already been axed as part of austerity cuts.
Plans were later announced for a 50-bed facility, but never taken further.
In April the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which controls local NHS spending, said the site was no longer needed, because the service was prioritising “neighbourhood-based, home-first rehabilitation”.
ICB chief delivery officer David Jarrett told South Gloucestershire Council’s health scrutiny committee that North Bristol NHS Trust – which has since become part of the merged Bristol NHS Trust – should consider selling the site to “generate further capital funds”.
At the committee’s June meeting, Save Frenchay Community Hospital Group member Barbara Harris repeated the plea to Bristol NHS Trust chief executive Maria Kane and chair Ingrid Barker to step in and provide the rehab beds for people who currently cannot leave hospital because there is nowhere for them to go for rehabilitation.
She said: “Patients and the public are being failed on a daily basis.
“Both the council and BNSSG ICB have now abandoned any further interest in healthcare provision on the Frenchay site.
“Our question to this committee and to Maria Kane and Ingrid Barker is, are you going to abandon us yet again?”
Conservative group leader Liz Brennan, who represents the Frenchay & Downend ward, said: “Today, Frenchay is a growing community, yet it has no local GP provision.
“Residents are often forced to travel outside the area to access basic healthcare services, despite many facing limited transport options, despite Frenchay having this significant and growing older population.
“The message to Bristol NHS Trust and the ICB is simple – please do not let this opportunity pass by.
“The question is no longer whether Frenchay needs local healthcare provision: the evidence is overwhelming.
“Let’s not look back in 20 years and regret the chances we had today.”
Marilyn Palmer (Lib Dem, Boyd Valley) told ICB chiefs at the meeting: “Frenchay is what we care about here.
“We really do implore you not to sell off the Frenchay site for housing – keep hold of the Frenchay site for some use for healthcare.”
Ms Barker said: “I know that Frenchay really matters in this community, and we are very conscious of that.”
Bristol NHS Trust chief medical officer Tim Whittlestone told the committee: “This debate over the Frenchay site has been going on for far too long.
“We need some clear and transparent decisions,
“There is huge potential, and with the Brabazon new town we have the opportunity to look at things differently and quite radically.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service