The local health authority has scrapped plans for rehab unit
The former Frenchay Hospital
Campaigners and councillors implored health chiefs not to sell off land at the former Frenchay Hospital for more housing after long-held plans for a rehabilitation unit were scrapped.
They accused South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) of ‘abandoning’ the village and described it as a ‘black hole’ for local health services.
Residents were promised the new NHS centre 12 years ago when the hospital shut and its emergency departments were transferred to Southmead.
But in April it was revealed that the ICB had axed the project because of updated national policy refocusing on patients’ recovery in their own homes rather than in-patient wards, with the site set to be sold off to reinvest in other major health priorities.
Barbara Harris, of Save Fenchay Community Hospital Group, told the council’s health scrutiny committee: “For the last 22 years, the plans for Frenchay have been started and stopped by the NHS five times.
“In spring last year, [ICB chair] Jeff Farrar assured me that the business case for Frenchay was to start. We discovered quite by accident last December that the plans had been stopped.
“Nobody bothered to tell us. Not only has South Gloucestershire Council abandoned the project, the ICB has also done so and suggested that the land should be sold for housing.
“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.”
She said campaigners were now asking Bristol NHS Trust chief executive Maria Kane and chair Ingrid Barker to provide the rehab beds the area desperately needs, with an aging population, bed-blockers who cannot leave hospital because there is nowhere for them to go for rehabilitation, and the dire shortage of health facilities in the village, including no GP.
“Our question to this committee and to Maria Kane and Ingrid Barker is are you going to abandon us yet again?” she added.
South Gloucestershire Council opposition Conservative group leader Cllr Liz Brennan (Frenchay & Downend) told the meeting: “For many, Frenchay Hospital was more than just a building, it was part of our identity and community.
“But today I want to focus on the future. We must ensure that this part of South Gloucestershire does not remain a black hole to local health services.
“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.
“Access to healthcare should not depend on whether you can drive, whether you can catch a bus or whether you are physically able to travel further afield, yet for many residents in Frenchay, that is exactly the situation they face today.
“This is not simply about convenience, it’s about what is right, It’s about ensuring people can access a doctor when they need one.
“It’s about helping older residents maintain their independence and giving families confidence that healthcare is available in their own communities.
“Frenchay has already given so much to healthcare across our region.
“We now have an opportunity to ensure that healthcare once again has a place at the heart of Frenchay.
“The message to [Bristol NHS Trust] and the ICB is simple – please do not let this opportunity pass by.
“We have a chance to create a local neighbourhood healthcare provision including key services that would serve residents for generations to come.
“The need is there, the population is there, the community support is there, and the land is there. Every box is being ticked.
“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.”
Cllr Marilyn Palmer (Lib Dem, Boyd Valley) told ICB chiefs who attended 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 Brabazon [new town] we have the opportunity to look at things differently and quite radically.”