news story

27th September 2006

New Blow to Frenchay Plans

Campaigners for Frenchay Hospital have been shocked to learn that the plan to keep a "minor injuries unit" on the Frenchay site once a new super-hospital is built at Southmead is likely to be scrapped.

One of the consolations of losing a major acute hospital at Frenchay was always the promise of a minor injuries unit to serve local people. But now, according to a consultation paper being considered today (Wednesday 27th September) by the Board of South Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, the unit is to be provided in Kingswood instead. The consultation on the "Kingswood and District Project" contains a range of options on exactly how NHS services will be provided in Kingswood, but under all three options the plan for a minor injuries unit has been scrapped.

Northavon MP Steve Webb said that he was disgusted by by news. He said: "All the way through the public consultations on the future of our local hospitals we were told that the very least we would get at Frenchay was a minor injuries unit alongside the community hospital beds. Now even this promise is being broken. The public has every right to feel totally cynical about this sorry saga from start to finish. If there is such a strong case for a minor injuries unit at Kingswood instead of Frenchay, why didn't they make the case during the consultations on the Bristol Health Services Plan?."

The MP said that he would be raising this point with the Parliamentary Ombudsman at his meeting next month to try to persuade her to reopen the decision to close Frenchay. He added that one of the arguments used by protestors was that the plan that is now going ahead is very different to the one on which the public were originally consulted, and this major change to the plans for Frenchay reinforces that case. In addition, the plans for local health care now include a significant private sector treatment centre which will do operations that would otherwise be done at Southmead, another significant change.


Note to editors:

The PCT Board meeting will be held at Emersons Green Village Hall on Wednesday 27th September. The document on public consultation on the "Kingswood and District Project" says: "The minor injury unit originally proposed for Frenchay will now be part of the new development in Kingswood and District".

For more information on the Save Frenchay campaign, click here.