Hospital patient service shake-up proposed

An NHS report states the hospital in Whielden Street has been 'considerably under-used' and a project to assess 'viable options' for its future began in July.
It states: "The building is purpose built, the construction form and the layout lend themselves to a high degree of adaptation to suit other planning use classes, such as nursing home accommodation, high quality office, therapy, Polyclinic and other activities allied to health provision."
Proposals include making Amersham a focus for 'non-acute care' and says rheumatology, pain clinics, diabetics and ambulatory care services may be centralised at the hospital..
It suggests freeing up space for patient care by moving space used for corporate functions - the equivalent of two wards - elsewhere. Scrapping the medical records department is proposed due to the use of electronic records and another two wards worth of unused space at the hospital should be used for patient care, it said.
The uncertainty about the plans angered Chiltern District Council's vice chairman Derek Lacey who is also a patient at four of the clinics at the hospital.
Cllr Lacey, who is also a Chesham Town Councillor, said: "Where are people going to go, especially the elderly? I just wonder where they are going to push the patients. I am worried about their care. Money always comes into it."
Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust recorded a £2.75m deficit this year.
A Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust spokeswoman said: "This is, financially, a difficult time for the country and the NHS has not been immune from the impact of the credit crunch.
"Within Buckinghamshire, the Trust and our commissioner, Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust, have been working closely together to realise a more financially stable NHS for the county after both ending the year in deficit. We have a duty to break-even and we take our responsibility for providing quality services that offer value for money to the taxpayer very seriously."
She added: "It is important that patients access the right care at the right time and the overall direction of the NHS is to provide more care closer to home, within a GP or community setting. As an organisation we need to be prepared for this, therefore we have been consulting with staff on a number of options to ensure that we can respond to the change in demand on our services going forward."
She added: "Nothing has been finalised and we will of course keep our staff and patients informed of anything that may affect them."
Have you been affected by changes at the hospital? Leacve a comment below or call 07795 812 070.