A Surrey hospital has said it is not “turfing anyone out” after the announcement that two wards will close next week. Instead, the NHS trust has said it is looking at providing for the “future needs of the local population”.

Haslemere community hospital is temporarily closing two inpatient wards on May 22. The two wards for rehabilitation, made up of 16 beds and largely used by frail adults with complex needs, are being “paused” until replacement medical cover is found.

For many years, the nearby GP surgery provided doctors to give care on the Elizabeth and Godwin wards during the day time. But after one of the GPs retired, the surgery handed in its notice at the end of March 2025.

Dr Bill Jewsbury, Medical Director at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust said they have been “urgently working to explore alternative options”, but has not been “able to identify robust medical cover on in the timescale”.

Dr Jewsbury said they are still working to find an alternative provider, speaking to all doctor surgeries in Waverley and Guildford borough. Interested parties are being kept updated and part of the discussion, the trust said.

Hospital staff have run down the ward in the last couple of weeks, the medical director said, to ensure no patient is put on the ward and then has to be moved.

“We’re not turfing anyone out,” a spokesperson from the trust said. “We’re not admitting new patients so we can really focus on looking after the people that are in those beds now well, and getting them home.”

Instead of the inpatient ward, residents could now go down one of three routes: stay at the Royal Surrey Hospital, go to one of the extra beds at the Milford community hospital or they will be able to return home and receive treatment there.

No other plans are in place for the ward yet, but Dr Jewsbury did not rule out it could be used for something else. He explained the majority of the patients using the inpatient facilities are not residents in Haslemere. 

There is also demand for “other services and community support”. The medical director explained many Haslemere residents often have to travel to the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford to access services which could be provided in Haslemere.

Discussions over the overall running of Haslemere Community Hospital, what it would look like in the future and what the needs of the population are have been going on for a while.

“We should get a really much more exciting community hospital,” Dr Jewsbury said. “Less around beds and much more around services that it provides.”

Services could include outpatient support, maternity and potentially dental work could be provided at Haslemere.

“We’re not pulling out of Haslemere Hospital, we’re investing into it in a way that meets the needs of the local population,” the trust’s medical director said.

Haslemere’s minor injuries unit could be transformed into an urgent treatment centre to provide a broader range of treatment. “That’s about £700,000 investment just in personnel going in there,” Dr Jewsbury said.

Other capital investments into Haslemere’s hospital building are also in the pipeline, the Trust said.