​A hospitals boss yesterday apologised for “poor communication” surrounding proposals to cut beds.

Up to 200 beds in Cheltenham and Gloucester could be closed as Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust looks to save £30 million.

A protest was staged by nurses outside a meeting of health bosses and councillors yesterday, demanding “no more ward closures”.

Speaking at the Gloucestershire County Council’s health, commun-and care overview and scrutiny committee meeting, Dr Frank Harsent said: “Chair, I would like to apologise to you and your committee for the poor communication which happen-around the issue.”

The hospitals trust chief executive said he thought the beds issue had been in the public domain and gave an assurance there would be a very close working relationship in the future.

This was then echoed by chairwoman Dame Janet Trotter.

The committee asked the trust to continue to hold any proposed changes to bed numbers while a consultation was carried out.

Dr Harsent gave a presentation on the proposed changes, highlighting the expected improvement to the quality of services.

Proposals include reducing the number of admissions and speeding up discharges. The trust, which sees 60,000 emergency admissions per year, says its average length of admission for the last financial year was 6.3 days – against a national average of 5.7. “Saving eight to 10 hours on every patient over 60,000 means we end up with an awful lot more beds than needed,” he added.

Part of the changes include moving stroke and neurology beds to a combined unit. This move, which does not include a reduction of beds, has been given the go-ahead.

Emphasis will also be put on treating people in the community. Dr Harsent said: “This is about trying to keep people at home and if you do come into hospital you only stay as long as you need to.” Phase one of the bed reduction programme was due to start at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital this April – with 95 beds going.

Committee chairman Andrew Gravells said: “We would like the NHS Trust to speak to patients’ groups, carers’ groups and the six MPs about the impact of closures.

“It was a useful meeting where we were able to have an honest exchange of views and understand much more clearly what the trust is proposing.”

Helen Hancox, regional officer for the Royal College of Nursing, said the organisation already received calls from concerned nurses unable to find beds for patients.

She added: “Members would have felt much more comfortable if efficiency savings had already been implemented which demonstrated that the hospital has already got too many beds.”

THE RECOMMENDATIONS:

The committee will inform Monitor, the foundation trust regulator, and NHS Gloucestershire that it is not satisfied the trust had adequately consulted on the proposed changes.

It requested the trust give it the results of its consultation.

The committee supported the proposals regarding stroke and neurology services. However, it asked the trust to place the other proposals on hold.

Committee members reminded the trust of its statutory duties to engage and consult with the committee, Gloucestershire LINk and the community.

They also requested the trust’s chief executive identified:

a) How the trust proposed to change its communication practice.

b) How the trust proposed to engage with the committee to monitor progress of implementation of certain changes.

c) How any future changes would be communicated to the committee.

Writing in today's Citizen, Editor Ian Mean, says now is time for clear communications from the local NHS:

Some sanity has finally come to the chaotic communications which resulted in The Citizen roundly criticising the boss of the county’s hospitals trust for dropping a bombshell over bed cuts.

Dr Frank Harsent yesterday appeared before the county’s powerful health scrutiny committee – very much a humiliated man – after announcing that up to 200 beds would be lost at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals.

Dr Harsent apologised for the lamentable communications surrounding his bed cuts announcement.

Readers will remember those page one headlines in The Citizen. They caused concern and worry among patients and staff concerned about their jobs.

Senior county councillors were in the dark over the sudden announcement, and it also caused shockwaves in Downing Street.

A health story like this involving the loss of up to 200 beds in the county was not exactly the news that the Labour government wished to be defending just before a General Election with two MPs seats at stake.

The NHS in the county wisely decided to put the bed closures on hold and this was yesterday confirmed at the scrutiny committee meeting.

Dr Harsent and his team will now be forced to draw up a proper consultation plan – that means talking to real people who have real concerns about such plans. Not just a tick in the box paper exercise.

Dr Harsent’s team left the meeting with a warning of “no more surprises” ringing in their ears from Councillor Andrew Gravells, the take-no-prisoners chairman of the scrutiny committee.

We hope he now listens. The Citizen has no problem about the delivery of difficult messages. What we object to is major announcements like this being made in an atmosphere of secrecy.

So do Monitor, the Government’s health watchdog. which now has its beady eye on our trust.