04.01.12
Hospital use must be reduced – NHS Confederation
At least 25% of patients in hospitals could be better looked after by NHS staff at home, the NHS Confederation suggests and the overall benefits of closing hospitals must therefore be clearly explained to patients.
North Bristol NHS Trust is proposing to close its Frenchay hospital, and replace this with a health and social care ‘campus’ to provide alternative care. The move comes at a time when hospital closures face strong objections from the public, although health professionals are increasingly pointing out the clinical and financial need to reconfigure health services.
The Bristol campus would include extra-care housing as well as outpatient clinics for older people and those with long-term conditions to incorporate care into the community. The plans include the assumption that 40% of outpatient activity will relocate to this facility.
Chief executive of the trust, Ruth Brunt, told the Guardian: “This is about services, not just about facilities. 27% of the patients sitting in my acute hospitals don’t need to be there.
“Acute hospital care is extraordinarily expensive, and despite what patients think, acute hospitals are fantastic if you really need high-tech acute specialist care but they are not that great if you’re getting better, or you’re waiting well.”
Mike Farrar, head of the NHS Confederation, recently suggested that more work needs to be done to reassure patients that reconfiguration of the NHS, including the shutting down of hospitals, is not as drastic as they perceive it to be.
He said: “Hospitals play a vital role, but we do rely on them for some services that could be provided elsewhere. We should be concentrating on reducing hospital stays where this is right for patients, shifting resources into community services, raising standards of general practice, and promoting early intervention and self care.
“There is a value-for-money argument for doing this, but it not just about money and the public need to be told that. This is about building an NHS for the future.”
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