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PLANS to close Bridlington Community Unit, which provides elderly care, will result in the ‘worst possible outcome for patients and staff’, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Thur).
The board of directors at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust today announced its support to close the unit, despite acknowledging that 91 per cent of people surveyed during the public consultation opposed its closure.
The trust says that patients not needing acute services will receive community-based care, which it does not have responsibility for and does not pay for.
Unite believes this attempt to generate short-term savings will not outweigh the long terms costs due to patients being readmitted to hospital because of the gaps in community care provision.
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Closing the unit, the union says, will result in elderly patients languishing in Scarborough, York or Hull hospitals if care is not available, which will likely often be the case.
There is also a danger that patients will be sent home without adequate care provisions being in place due to pressures on bed availability at those hospitals.
Furthermore, the ward’s nurses and healthcare assistants face redundancy or transfer to York or Scarborough.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a cruel decision that will leave vulnerable patients at risk of substandard care or stranded miles from home.
“It will result in the worst possible outcome for patients and staff and is nothing more than shameless cost cutting at the expense of Bridlington’s residents. Unite remains firm in demanding the trust abandons these plans.”
Unite says Bridlington Hospital has suffered years of cuts to services – despite being one of the region’s most modern hospitals at just 30 years old.
Many of the hospital’s wards are standing empty, resulting in patients being forced to make 50-mile round trips to Scarborough or 80-mile rounds trips to York.
Unite regional officer Chris Daly said: “The trust claims that services at Bridlington Hospital are actually going to increase while announcing the closure of one of its most crucial wards. Nobody – not staff, patients nor the people of Bridlington – is fooled.
“It is as clear as day that Bridlington’s is being treated as a poor relation. Unite will be providing maximum support to our members in fighting to save these vital health services.”
Clare Smith, Chief Executive of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This decision was not taken lightly, and we recognise the strength of feeling in Bridlington, not just about the Care Unit but about the hospital’s future more broadly.
“The Board has supported the recommendation because patients who no longer need acute hospital treatment should, wherever it is safe and clinically appropriate, be supported to return home as soon as possible and with the right package of care around them.
“Most patients are already discharged from our hospitals with the appropriate support in place, and we will continue to work closely with community and social care providers to ensure that those who may have been admitted to the BCU whilst waiting for these arrangements to be made can be safely discharged with the support they need.”
Clare continued: “We want to be clear that Bridlington Hospital remains an important part of local healthcare provision. and we have been actively working to increase the services that are available there, particularly in planned surgery and outpatients.
“This decision is specific only to the BCU and does not impact the future of the wider hospital site. We have heard clearly that people want a stronger, more visible plan for services in Bridlington, and that work will continue with the community and our partners. Feedback from the engagement programme about diagnostics, outpatients, planned care and other local services will continue to inform the Trust’s Clinical Strategy and service planning.
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