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Post by zenfootball2 on Oct 17, 2021 12:33:42 GMT 1
they can focus on health promotion all they like, people still need to go to hospital and a very good local community hospital has been closed , how long is temporary ? or will this just be quietly shut. www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/south-shropshire/bishops-castle/2021/10/17/south-shropshire-councillors-slam-stealth-closure-of-community-hospital/South Shropshire councillors slam 'stealth closure' of community hospital By David TooleyBishop's CastlePublished: 1 hour agoLast Updated: 2 hours ago Councillors have called on health bosses to define what they mean by 'temporary' following the closure of Bishop's Castle Community Hospital Liberal Democrats Heather Kidd and Ruth Houghton say health leaders should have consulted on the closure of the unit in Union Street which chiefs say was taken because "staffing issues" have left it difficult to run. Councillor Ruth Houghton (Bishop's Castle) said she has asked for more information on the length of time the hospital will be closed for, as "no plan or timescales have been provided." Councillor Houghton and her colleague Councillor Heather Kidd (Chirbury and Worthen) are concerned that the need to transfer patients out of Bishop's Castle will place strains on other parts of the health service just as winter approaches.It could also mean patients and their families from the Bishop's Castle area will have to travel many miles. The hospital website says it has 16 beds providing inpatients and outpatients services in audiology, podiatry, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy. It also has a palliative care suite that has received local, regional and even national recognition. Councillor Kidd added: “Staffing has been quoted as the main reason for the closure, but not once have they raised this as an issue with scrutiny." She added: “What has really annoyed me is this was done almost by stealth. Very few people knew what was going to happen.She added: “The beds at Bishop’s Castle are usually full during the winter months and the hospital plays a key role for health care in a whole swathe of the south west of the county. Without these local beds people from southwest Shropshire will be faced with long visitor journeys and poor public transport." In a statement last week Shropshire Community Health Trust, which manages the hospital, said that staffing issues over the last six months had left it "extremely difficult" to run the hospital. A spokesman said: "Shropshire Community Health Trust (SCHT) is committed to providing high quality care, and this has proved to be extremely challenging at Bishop’s Castle due to long-standing staffing issues. “Recruitment has been a problem for several years. The spokesperson said they are due to start an engagement programme with the public in the winter. Its Local Care Transformation Programme, includes plans to engage, involve and "co-design new models of care with residents and communities, with a focus on prevention and promoting good health and wellbeing." The move has been criticised by health campaigners. Gill George, the chair of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend our NHS, said: "What lies ahead if they continue with this is a winter of crisis and people dying, avoidably, in Shropshire."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2021 12:53:23 GMT 1
A lot of patients from RSH are transferred to BC for continuing care. This will affect services there to.
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 17, 2021 12:59:43 GMT 1
It will affect everything. It’s a disgraceful decision and even worse now the lack of consultation has been highlighted.
I don’t know what it will take for the powers that be to realise that people don’t want to be ‘shunted around’ like cabbages. They want to be in small, friendly places where it is easy for their family and friends to visit particularly in such a rural area where public transport swings from minimal to non existent.
Many years ago now, I was involved in a campaign to keep the hospital open and we won. It looks like the next generation will have to take this on again. Bishop’s Castle today - where tomorrow? It is the thin edge of a wedge.
The end of life unit is a superb facility and one that, again was truly appreciated by everyone.
I am so angry that, yet again, no one in the Health Service gives a damn about PEOPLE!
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cuzzman
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Post by cuzzman on Oct 17, 2021 13:40:23 GMT 1
Community hospitals are absolutely vital in a large rural county such as ours. Telford and Shrewsbury can't possibly cope with everything.We had the threat of a closure with our hospital here in Whitchurch and the response was emphatic - this was not happening!! The townspeople organised a march through the town a few years ago and the authorities relented. If Bishops Castle closes once there is a massive chance it will go totally, this is what often happens. Units like this act as an overspill for the two main hospitals and south Shropshire would be devastated without it. I call upon J. T and Minor to arm the locals for battle and prevent any sort of closure before it begins. There is always a way. The problem is the N.H.S has been a terrible payer for way too long and morale must be hideous and no one in their right mind would want to join. The spirit of human kindness and feeling of a " calling" can only go so far. I wish everyone all the best in the oncoming fight.
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Post by Minormorris64 on Oct 17, 2021 14:11:47 GMT 1
Lack of qualified staff in sufficient numbers
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Post by SeanBroseley on Oct 17, 2021 14:14:55 GMT 1
Further explanation of Gill George's position on this that I have seen:
"The claim is that it’s temporary and on safety grounds, but this is unlikely to be true. ‘Temporary’ closures that continue indefinitely have happened a good few times in Shropshire’s NHS. There is no justification given by the Community Trust for the safety concerns. There are no stated criteria for re-opening. It’s probably about cutting agency costs – AND perhaps about the lease expiring next year. Without the beds, they will announce that oh-so-sadly, the remainder of the building isn’t viable – and it will close, with the loss of local services (and local jobs). Surprise, surprise, staff seem to have been subjected to a gagging order.
It reflects the contempt for rural communities, and in clinical terms it is absurd at a time when the desperate shortage of hospital beds is a major factor in ambulances queuing up for hours outside both A&Es. No beds to admit patients, A&E gets full, ambulance queue outside and are therefore off road, the entire system grinds to a halt. To take out the 16 beds at Bishops Castle is daft."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2021 15:22:13 GMT 1
Have emailed Philip Dunne and I suggest others do so. Let's see what he is made of over protecting local services within his constituency.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2021 14:47:05 GMT 1
Philip Dunne's reply:-
Thank you for your email of 17th October. I appreciate your concern about Bishops Castle Community Hospital.
I have discussed the closure to new admissions with Shropcom’s new Chief Executive, who has assured me this a temporary measure, pending recruitment of new qualified nursing staff. While it is not clear how long this will take, I have been assured that the decision has been taken on patient safety grounds, and once sufficient staff have been recruited, the hospital will resume normal service.
The hospital at Bishop’s Castle has been dependent on qualified agency nursing staff, in recent weeks, which is not sustainable. While new staff are being recruited, I am concerned to ensure that existing staff are deployed in the local community or at Ludlow Community Hospital, to give them the stability they need during the interim period. I know the excellent GP medical practice in Bishop’s Castle is working closely with the Community Trust and hospital staff to provide advice and support to local patients.
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Post by zenfootball2 on Oct 18, 2021 14:50:30 GMT 1
Philip Dunne's reply:- Thank you for your email of 17th October. I appreciate your concern about Bishops Castle Community Hospital. I have discussed the closure to new admissions with Shropcom’s new Chief Executive, who has assured me this a temporary measure, pending recruitment of new qualified nursing staff. While it is not clear how long this will take, I have been assured that the decision has been taken on patient safety grounds, and once sufficient staff have been recruited, the hospital will resume normal service. The hospital at Bishop’s Castle has been dependent on qualified agency nursing staff, in recent weeks, which is not sustainable. While new staff are being recruited, I am concerned to ensure that existing staff are deployed in the local community or at Ludlow Community Hospital, to give them the stability they need during the interim period. I know the excellent GP medical practice in Bishop’s Castle is working closely with the Community Trust and hospital staff to provide advice and support to local patients. Thanks for this and let us hope this is the case
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 18, 2021 15:48:56 GMT 1
So is it closed because of patient safety or because using agency staff is not ‘sustainable’ presumably on financial grounds?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2021 15:56:31 GMT 1
Our local community hospital, Tarporley War Memorial Hospital (an Independent Charitable Trust) is facing an unsure future and only the other week announced that they are entering into a period of redundancy consultation with all 24 members of staff. This is very close to my heart as I've done some voluntary work for them in recent years. www.tarporleyhospital.co.uk/
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Post by welshshrew on Oct 18, 2021 16:27:46 GMT 1
It will affect everything. It’s a disgraceful decision and even worse now the lack of consultation has been highlighted. I don’t know what it will take for the powers that be to realise that people don’t want to be ‘shunted around’ like cabbages. They want to be in small, friendly places where it is easy for their family and friends to visit particularly in such a rural area where public transport swings from minimal to non existent. Many years ago now, I was involved in a campaign to keep the hospital open and we won. It looks like the next generation will have to take this on again. Bishop’s Castle today - where tomorrow? It is the thin edge of a wedge. The end of life unit is a superb facility and one that, again was truly appreciated by everyone. I am so angry that, yet again, no one in the Health Service gives a damn about PEOPLE! Call me an optimist but I reckon at least one person in the Health Service gives a damn.
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Post by kenwood on Oct 18, 2021 16:34:34 GMT 1
I know Councillor Ruth Houghton , used to work with her some years back . Her mother and father were teachers at Bishops Castle High School and her husband Tim worked at the Sorting Office. Happened to bump into Ruth a few weeks ago in Bishops Castle , had a good natter about people we knew/ had lost contact with for whatever reason. She will certainly fight for the residents of Bishops Castle and surrounding area make no mistake . She will certainly hold them to account but , as I’m sure we are all aware there is only so much one can do.
Shropshire nhs have a fair few slippery barstewards within their ranks , quick with the words but slow with any action . Let’s see how far the” engagement programme with the public ? works out . It’s taking place in the Winter ? so I would imagine by the time this has been evaluated it will be some time into the Spring . The local Care Transformation Programme sounds good . It’s probably a “ You tell us what you want and we’ll tell you we can’t afford it “ type of dialogue . Ticks all the boxes though , consultation and engagement put into practice . Wonderful .
Hope I’m wrong but I can’t help but feel decisions have been made no matter what .
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 18, 2021 17:00:52 GMT 1
Yes she’s a great person. I worked with her father and her mother was a friend of my mothers. I knew her through a walking group we were in when we lived there. She’s what the people of south Shropshire need - someone to galvanise and put everything together. Although I am in Yorkshire now, I will be following this with great interest.
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Post by davycrockett on Oct 18, 2021 17:15:00 GMT 1
Yet you’d struggle to find the adverts for these ‘vacancies’ which have surely been up for weeks?
With a significant movement out of cities following Covid surely there are nursing staff that would enjoy a move to the country and they be able to buy a mansion in BC compared to London. My neighbours sold a terraced house in Wimbledon and bought a large 4 bed detached in Telford.
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 18, 2021 17:21:34 GMT 1
Our local community hospital, Tarporley War Memorial Hospital (an Independent Charitable Trust) is facing an unsure future and only the other week announced that they are entering into a period of redundancy consultation with all 24 members of staff. This is very close to my heart as I've done some voluntary work for them in recent years. www.tarporleyhospital.co.uk/It’s quite frightening really. As I’ve said we went through all this before in Bishop’s Castle and the conclusion was reached that the hospital was essential and yet here we go again. I do hope your area has good people who will fight for their locality and their services.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2021 17:47:03 GMT 1
Our local community hospital, Tarporley War Memorial Hospital (an Independent Charitable Trust) is facing an unsure future and only the other week announced that they are entering into a period of redundancy consultation with all 24 members of staff. This is very close to my heart as I've done some voluntary work for them in recent years. www.tarporleyhospital.co.uk/It’s quite frightening really. As I’ve said we went through all this before in Bishop’s Castle and the conclusion was reached that the hospital was essential and yet here we go again. I do hope your area has good people who will fight for their locality and their services. The hospital is a charity and so relies heavily on donations, fund raising events etc... The hospital is highly valued by so many that I'm sure, in fact confident that they will have the support of the whole community and surrounding parishes.
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Post by zenfootball2 on Oct 18, 2021 19:27:43 GMT 1
Our local community hospital, Tarporley War Memorial Hospital (an Independent Charitable Trust) is facing an unsure future and only the other week announced that they are entering into a period of redundancy consultation with all 24 members of staff. This is very close to my heart as I've done some voluntary work for them in recent years. www.tarporleyhospital.co.uk/im sorry to hear let us hope the comunity can rally round and help get things back on track.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2021 21:09:42 GMT 1
It will affect everything. It’s a disgraceful decision and even worse now the lack of consultation has been highlighted. I don’t know what it will take for the powers that be to realise that people don’t want to be ‘shunted around’ like cabbages. They want to be in small, friendly places where it is easy for their family and friends to visit particularly in such a rural area where public transport swings from minimal to non existent. Many years ago now, I was involved in a campaign to keep the hospital open and we won. It looks like the next generation will have to take this on again. Bishop’s Castle today - where tomorrow? It is the thin edge of a wedge. The end of life unit is a superb facility and one that, again was truly appreciated by everyone. I am so angry that, yet again, no one in the Health Service gives a damn about PEOPLE! As someone who works in the health service, I really find this quite insulting, to say that none of us give a damn about people!! We’ve been giving more than a ruddy damn about very sick people for many years and gone way above what should be physically possible for humans, during the past 18 months, driving ourselves into the ground, to give a damn about PEOPLE.
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 18, 2021 22:01:51 GMT 1
Oops apologies very bad phrasing on my part. I truly didn’t mean all of you who do the actual caring - no one knows better than I how untrue this would be. I meant the people who are sitting in offices making these decisions to temporarily close hospitals like this without a thought of the effects on the actual patients/potential patients and their families.
Hope you can accept my apology.
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Post by Worthingshrew on Oct 18, 2021 22:14:51 GMT 1
I think it’s also unfair to suggest that the people making these hard decisions have no thought for patients and their families. They will be very much aware and we are all patients.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2021 22:17:31 GMT 1
Oops apologies very bad phrasing on my part. I truly didn’t mean all of you who do the actual caring - no one knows better than I how untrue this would be. I meant the people who are sitting in offices making these decisions to temporarily close hospitals like this without a thought of the effects on the actual patients/potential patients and their families. Hope you can accept my apology. Apology accepted, but there are also some really good managers in the NHS, plus some bad ones. I can only assume, rightly or wrongly, they feel that a hospital staffed entirely by agency is unsafe…….I would tend to agree on that one…..I think the question should be why can’t they get permanent staff to work there? It’s a problem across the NHS, caused in the main by this government and their failure to pay what clinical staff deserve and resource trusts well enough to be able to recruit enough staff.
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 18, 2021 22:34:47 GMT 1
I think it’s also unfair to suggest that the people making these hard decisions have no thought for patients and their families. They will be very much aware and we are all patients. But there won’t be that many of them who are aware of the problems in truly rural areas with very limited public transport. I spoke to a friend in Shropshire this afternoon who said that it’s not just the patients who were in beds but also all the out patient facilities as well. This will presumably put pressure on other hospitals and departments as well. My memory takes me back to when the Department for Education wanted to close the school in Bishop's Castle stating that the children could all go to Church Stretton as there was a straight road between the two places. In reply the Head invited them to come and see the situation for themselves. To be fair, they accepted and apparently they turned white as the school minibus took them on the straight road they had referred to which took them straight over the Long Mynd. The school stayed open. Just sitting in an office isn’t always the answer.
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Post by SeanBroseley on Oct 18, 2021 23:11:26 GMT 1
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Post by Minormorris64 on Oct 19, 2021 8:30:31 GMT 1
Yet you’d struggle to find the adverts for these ‘vacancies’ which have surely been up for weeks? With a significant movement out of cities following Covid surely there are nursing staff that would enjoy a move to the country and they be able to buy a mansion in BC compared to London. My neighbours sold a terraced house in Wimbledon and bought a large 4 bed detached in Telford. Good luck with finding a house in BC, currently only 3 for sale and 2 building plots at £200K each
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2021 13:58:40 GMT 1
On the subject of getting staff for rural based health services, my mum was telling me this morning that the GP practice back home in Tywyn is struggling to both retain and recruit both practice nurses and GPs and it has know become of serious concern.
The remaining GPs have had to take on an increased number of patients, many of whom are elderly with co-morbidities.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2021 14:06:31 GMT 1
and whilst I'm on a roll....
I'm under the chest consultant at the Countess of Chester and I have been having regular CT scans. I was due my next scheduled scan this month but I've now been told that there is a 15 week waiting list for CT scans at the Countess and that I may therefore need to go up to the Wirral or Crewe should the situation not improve.
Not exactly on the doorstep and not an easy journey to make if you did not have your own transport.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2021 14:31:17 GMT 1
Oops apologies very bad phrasing on my part. I truly didn’t mean all of you who do the actual caring - no one knows better than I how untrue this would be. I meant the people who are sitting in offices making these decisions to temporarily close hospitals like this without a thought of the effects on the actual patients/potential patients and their families. Hope you can accept my apology. Apology accepted, but there are also some really good managers in the NHS, plus some bad ones. I worked in health and social care for 40 odd years and for a number of years I worked in a managerial capacity. I have to say that the majority of managers that I knew were hard working and totally committed to delivering the best health/social care services possible. Managers were contracted to work 37 hours a week but everyone I knew worked at least an extra day a week and took work home at the weekend. Bringing patient care back into the community/closer to home was certainly something I worked on for a number of years, with some success. However, in the later stage of my career, my senior role involving service redesign more often than not had to take a back seat as me and others were pulled to deal with operational matters, to basically fight fires as more and more targets were missed. In the end that's all my role was, chasing targets and micro managing the providers. It was demoralising and not what I wanted to achieve as a health care professional.
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Post by ssshrew on Oct 19, 2021 14:39:52 GMT 1
And that’s the problem. It’s like league tables in schools - targets all the time.
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Post by Minormorris64 on Oct 20, 2021 13:39:22 GMT 1
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