WESTBURY MP Andrew Murrison has been speaking in the House of Commons in support of community hospital beds, and spoke of his ‘deep regret’ that beds had been cut in Westbury.
The MP, who worked in the NHS as a consultant before entering Parliament, has been a long-term champion of community hospitals. He recently used a debate on plans for the NHS to cite the importance of existing beds at Warminster and Shaftesbury hospitals in reducing delayed discharges from acute units.
Constituents have been contacting him about plans to reduce provision at Shaftesbury.
Speaking after the debate, Andrew Murrison MP said, “I deeply regret that over years the beds have been cut at Trowbridge and Westbury which has made bed blocking in our acute hospitals worse.
“We have to keep what we have in Warminster and Shaftesbury since they offer a patient-friendly, cost effective way of providing step up and step down care for people who cannot be treated at home.
“I hope the sustainability and transformation plans currently being drawn up will recognise the importance of intermediate care beds and that we can start to look at reprovisioning where they have been lost.”
