News story

24th March 2005

MP & Protestors Win New Study over Frenchay

Northavon MP Steve Webb and supporters of Frenchay Hospital have secured a promise from the Strategic Health Authority that more work will be done by local Trusts on the impact of their plans on access to local hospitals. At a public meeting of the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, held at the Memorial Stadium, board members heard from local MP Steve Webb and from other local residents and campaigners about their continuing concerns about the plan to downgrade Frenchay  Hospital.

Board members then quizzed representatives of the Bristol Health Services Plan and representatives of the local health trusts before deciding to call for extra work on a range of topics. These included the impact of the plans to cut hospital beds on local social services, and the impact of the centralisation of hospital services on the Southmead site for access to hospital by different groups of people.

In his contribution, Steve Webb quoted from North Bristol Trust documents which said that there were "no clinical grounds" to choose one site over another, and which admitted that "both sites have their advantages". He also pointed out that no reliable modelling had been done on journey times , whether for hospital visitors or for emergency access, and said that it was critical that such analysis was carried out.

Yate councillor and law lecturer Chris Willmore point out some of the flaws in the BHSP analysis, including claiming that British Aeropsace was the main employer in the Southmead area and also the report's failure to take account of disadvantaged areas of South Gloucestershire. She also challenged the legal ability of the Trust to reduce Frenchay to a small hospital with less than 50 beds.

Speaking after the meeting, Steve Webb said:

"The Health Authority have made an important decision to ask for some serious work to be done on the impact of downgrading Frenchay on peoples' access to hospital services. I will be working with the Health Authority to make sure that the right questions are asked. I hope that the results will demonstrate what must be clear to most fair-minded people - that access to Southmead from large parts of South Gloucestershire is extremely difficult, and that relying on Southmead alone will put lives at risk".