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Cornwall is likely to see bed closures across its community hospitals as part of the NHS’ national ten-year plan which sees a move away from hospital to community care. That was the message during a discussion specifically about the future of Falmouth Community Hospital at a Cornwall Council health scrutiny committee meeting yesterday (Wednesday, October 8).
Councillors noted there was some confusion concerning a press release issued by Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust (CPFT) last month which suggested it was looking to scrap the hospital’s 20 inpatient beds. A spokesperson for the trust said there were no imminent plans to close the Falmouth beds, but they could not rule out getting rid of them and beds across Cornwall’s other community hospitals in the long term.
Committee chair Cllr Nicky Chopak, who had asked for an urgent report for councillors to consider following the news reported by CornwallLive about Falmouth, read a statement from the CPFT, which runs the county’s community hospitals. It said: “Community hospitals like the one in Falmouth have provided vital support for people for many years. They remain a vital community asset from which we expect to be delivering our community and neighbourhood services for the future in line with the ten-year plan.
“However, care is not just about buildings, it is about how we work and care for people. That is why we are changing the way we do things and shifting the way we provide health and care to our people and communities.
“Modern research shows long hospital stays cause people harm. It reduces their mobility, independence and ability to return to their own homes. A clinical review has shown that approximately 60 per cent of people currently receiving care in Cornwall’s community hospitals could have their rehabilitation at home.
“As we increase services to support care at home, we are reviewing how we use our inpatient resources to best meet changing needs. We expect that over time this will mean adjusting our bed occupancy levels to reflect the changing demand for hospital beds as we continue to develop community alternatives that better meet patients’ needs. We are starting to talk to our staff, patients, the public and partners about this shift.”
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Tracey Lee, chief of staff of NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, which oversees all health services, told councillors: “It’s quite important to say that over time as we develop our community-facing model, we would expect to see less beds required as we provide more rehabilitation in people’s homes. That reduction will be on the back of those beds no longer being required because we’re providing more appropriate care for patients.”
Responding to concerns about Falmouth Hospital, David Wilson, of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The key message from me is the future of Falmouth Hospital is safe. It’s a trusted centre of care for its community. Fundamentally as we shift healthcare out of bed-based bases into patients’ own homes its reliant on a reduction in occupancy levels.” He said there was no definitive plan at this stage.
On being questioned about the specifics about bed closures at the hospital being permanent or temporary, Mr Wilson said: “There is no reduction in beds at all. We’ve got 20 beds on the Falmouth site. There’s no plan to close them imminently. In the future there may be a time when we have to have that discussion around moving resource away from bedded care into the community. We’re not there yet.
“There are no plans at this stage to do that. Those beds will remain open until such time we’re in a position to potentially do that. If we did, we’d do that in consultation with all partners before we did so.”
Cllr Chopak said that the press release sent out concerning potential bed closures “could in theory change the heading and put almost any community hospital on the top of that release, so I’m trying to understand if Falmouth is the first of many you will be having this conversation about? We don’t want to be having this conversation every month with a different hospital named in a press release.”
Mr Wilson responded: “You’re right in what you say, this is a whole system transformation piece, so there will be extensive consultation right across the county as plans are developed. With our ICB and social care colleagues we need to co-ordinate this engagement into a whole system discussion rather than individual units. I reiterate, it’s still very early days and we’re at the ideas stage at the moment rather than the planning stage.”
There was some criticism among councillors that the messaging from the Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust (CPFT) about Falmouth Hospital hadn’t been clear and had led to concerns among residents.
Cllr Andrew Mitchell told the meeting: “As a St Ives resident and a St Ives councillor, we had four years of guarantees that Edward Hain Community Hospital wasn’t going to close and, guess what, it closed. So I think it is correct for us to acknowledge the worries and concerns of people in the greater Falmouth area who see possibly a threat to services that they receive.”
The committee noted in their recommendations that members had raised concerns about the content of press releases that could lead to confusion. Members resolved to work with the Partnership Trust to help transform care in support of better outcomes for residents and the committee requested clear, open and pro-active communication about the trust’s intentions.
It was agreed earlier this year that a former community hospital in Cornwall could be sold for housing. The 111-year-old Fowey Community Hospital, which closed in 2016 and is no longer fit for purpose, is unlikely to be viable as a care setting in the future as it’s too small. Some residents have campaigned to bring it back into medical use.
