Plans may go forward for the two local hospitals to cut their bed count by a third. The trust observed an increase in people being cared for at home and remarked it was looking at the 'blend and balance' of its local services. However, Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine has started a petition to halt what she calls "short-sighted" cuts that, in her view, could lead to job losses.
Ms. Sabine, in tandem with Frome North councillor Adam Boyden, believes that the proposed cuts stem from the assumption that too few patients are discharged from the Royal United Hospital in Bath to the Forum. "We see that the Royal United Hospitals find it hard to send people home, and now we're cutting beds that would aid this," she said.
But other Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke, who represents the constituency of West Mendip Hospital, appears to support the proposal with some caution. "He told me that this move isn't to cut down on funding but is an intended intelligent approach to provide care by reducing the number of community beds and requiring people to leave the hospital only when it is safe," she repeated.
She said that she understands "the amount of money and people that was once allocated to the beds in the local hospitals will now work to ensure we have enough help in local places to enable us to make this change." But Ms. Sabine pointed out that while Somerset NHS Foundation Trust seems to plan more help around local hospitals to be regional, Frome may not be a part of these plans. "We sort of miss out because we are at the edge of Somerset and work with a hospital not run by the same group, so we did not get that promise," she stated. A representative for them stated that a greater proportion of care is received at home nowadays. There is also "quite a lot" of additional funding for services that assist post-hospital discharge.
"We are now looking at the range, mix, and balance of NHS services from the patients' homes, local hospitals, and hospital beds," they said. "Also, we're looking at what other aid could be provided at our local hospitals that have now shifted what are considered as core functions to the main hospitals so that intended support will be provided close to home when appropriate."