THE future of Alton Community Hospital appears bright and secure following renewed public assurance that the facility is to play a progressive and active part in the future provision of health services in north Hampshire. And this renewed lease of life is expected to start this autumn with the reopening of the 24-bed Inwood Ward. In an up-beat public meeting at Alton Maltings Centre on Wednesday evening, North Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) chief executive Debbie Glenn stressed once again that, as the owner of the hospital, "the PCT has no plans to close Alton Community Hospital and never has". In fact, the proposals for the future of the hospital, as recommended by the local stakeholder group, had been strengthened by the recent release of a new government White Paper on health and care which advocates the provision of more affordable community based health care. "It strengthens the future of community hospitals in general and Alton Community Hospital in particular," said Mrs Glenn. This pattern of care will be reinforced by the implementation from April this year of a government-enforced plan to transfer the commissioning of local services away from PCTs and into the hands of local GPs. In opening the meeting, Alton Town Mayor Paddy Mendham said he believed the pressure brought to bear on the PCT by the public, following the sudden, unannounced closure last June of the Inwood Ward, had played a large part in securing the future of the town's community hospital. A message supported, it seemed, by Mrs Glenn who in praising the work of the stakeholder group, set up in October last year as a locally-based think tank, welcomed the development of what had become a "true partnership". While issuing a caution that there was "still a lot of work to do" to implement the stakeholder recommendations, Mrs Glenn confirmed that the PCT and the local GPs had agreed to support the "general direction of travel". The proposals, she said, appeared "affordable" and the PCT "would like to continue to work with the people of Alton" in order to achieve their chosen goal. Acknowledged as a key player in a network of care across North Hampshire, serving the needs of both the local and wider population, Alton Community Hospital is not just an in- patient facility but offers a wide range of out- patient services, with scope to do more. The recommendation is to re-open the full compliment of 48 beds, "provided they can be run in a safe, effective and affordable way and in line with emerging national policy". These beds would be nurse-led but with medical cover and would be used for patients who do not require acute care and for those discharged from larger district hospitals. The hospital would also be developed as a multi-disciplinary centre of excellence for intermediate care incorporating active rehabilitation, primarily for stroke and orthopaedic patients. And it would include a 12-bed GP-led facility to enable continued management of patients in the community. According to PCT director of performance and patient outcomes Richard Samuel, in reaching these recommendations research had reiterated the importance of planning services to meet the needs of a growing elderly population across North Hampshire. It had also become clear that a significant number of people, who would be better placed in a community setting, were being cared for in an expensive and unsuitable acute hospital environment. People preferred to be closer to home, in a community hospital environment which was also more cost effective. "It is cheaper to deliver the right care in a community hospital," he said. Mr Samuel said it will take two to three months to develop these ideas to reality and the PCT will then bring the refined proposals back to the community. Staff recruitment, which had triggered the closure of Inwood ward in June, had improved with the introduction of more flexible contract hours and working patterns, enabling part time employment. With more opportunities and attractive career options opening up in community hospitals, the launch of a summer recruitment drive was expected to secure the re-opening of inpatient beds on Inwood Ward planned for the autumn. While unable at this stage to give a precise figure for the reopening of the beds, early estimates suggest an additional £350k a year. It is, however, estimated the PCT will save at least that much by not having to pay for so many days care in the larger district hospitals. "That is why we believe these proposals are affordable," said Mr Samuel. Local people interested in the provision of services at Alton Community Centre are being urged to join Alton Town Partnership's working group which will monitor the progress of the new recommendations – details available from Alton Town Hall.
