A petition which demands that Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital is not made ‘bedless’ has been branded ‘irresponsible’ by local Conservatives. Frank Myers MBE told the Ross Gazette that he believes that the petition is irresponsible and could undermine the confidence of people and employees at the hospital.

The petition, organised by a Lib Dem Town Council election candidate, Julian Utting, was posted online on the website: change.org on Sunday, February 26th.

Mr Utting, who is standing in the West Ward by-election, told the Gazette that he was spurred into action after he read the sustainability and transformation plan (STP), a document that has been put forward by health services in Herefordshire, which considers changes to the local NHS over the next five years.

Mr Utting said that upon reading the STP, he was concerned that beds in community hospitals across the county could be cut over the next five years.

He said that by creating the petition, ‘Keep Ross-on-Wye’s Community Hospital Beds’ it gave local people a chance to show how much they support their local hospital.

However, on March 2nd, the Wye Valley Trust issued a press release confirming that ‘There are NO plans for Ross Community Hospital to lose all its beds.’ Mr Utting and his colleagues, Councillor Bartrum and Lucy Hurds, were collecting signatures on the petition in Ross Market Place on Saturday, March 4th.

Mr Utting said he was delighted with the response from the Wye Valley Trust. He said, “It was good news that the Ross Gazette received assurances from the Health Chiefs confirming there are no plans to lose ALL of the beds. However, their statement did not rule out any reduction in the number of beds and their plan indicates up to 200 community hospital beds are at risk in Herefordshire (44%) [source BBC News]. That is equivalent to one of the two Ross Community Hospital Wards closing.

“The Draft Sustainability and Transformation plan is coming to the end of its engagement period and once updated and published for formal consultation with the public the decision will have been made. There will be no turning back. I believe it is better to try to influence these decisions before they have been made.”

Mr Utting said he was delighted with the response to the petition which had collected more than 100 signatures online and 200 people had signed the Petition in person at the Market Place, in Ross-on-Wye on Saturday, March 4th.

Councillor Richard Mayo told the Ross Gazette, “The STP is not a proposal, it is a draft consultation for the whole of the Wye Valley Trust and the loss of beds at Ross Community Hospital has not been discussed at any level of the WVT.” 

Mr Myers, who was speaking in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the Trust, although as a member of the Wye Valley NHS Trust Board he believes he has a good understanding of the issues, told the Ross Gazette, “The Sustainability and Transformation Plan deals with this (Ross losing all its beds) on page 60, it does not even mention Ross Hospital, it looks at the entire Herefordshire bed base. It describes a process designed to lead “to better clinical outcomes and improved independence” for patients.

Alison Talbot-Smith, Consultant in Public Health and Director of Transformation for One Herefordshire at Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group explained some of the reasons behind the STP. “It’s all about making common-sense improvements in areas that matter to people – like making it easier to see a GP, speeding up cancer diagnosis and offering help faster to people with mental ill health,” she said.

“Within the STP we are clear that we have some work to do on redesigning our community services as a whole to enable us to provide this kind of care closer to home and support people in their own homes.

 “But as regards community hospital beds, there are no specific plans as we have not yet undertaken our engagement process,” added Alison.

In the coming months there will be a robust engagement process to understand the needs and views of the population – to enable commissioners and providers of health and care services to identify options for change.

“As part of that we will be engaging with the public, patients, and clinicians across the county, including Ross-on-Wye,” said Alison.

 “Once undertaken, that engagement process will identify options for change on which we will then undertake formal public consultation, ensuring all stakeholders are consulted.

 “We would like to reassure people that at this time no decision has been made on any aspect of community services and that no decision will be made without full public involvement.”

The full STP, along with a summary and a survey for local people to complete and give their views, can be found by visiting the website www.hacw.nhs.uk/yourconversation