THE MP for the South Cotswolds has warned that plans to suspend operating theatre services at Cirencester Hospital in Tetbury Road could damage patient care and further strain Gloucestershire’s overstretched hospital network.
Posting online on Tuesday, October 28, Dr Roz Savage said she had met with NHS Gloucestershire leaders the week before ‘to raise serious concerns’ over the proposal, which she described as a so-called ‘temporary six-month “test of change”’.
The Liberal Democrat MP added householders had heard similar assurances before - citing the downgrade of Cirencester’s minor injuries unit in 2016 and the loss of blood services in 2020, both of which were described as temporary but never reinstated.
In a letter to Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Savage said ‘clinicians describe Cirencester as a purpose-built, well-equipped and highly-efficient facility that plays a crucial role in supporting orthopaedic, urology and oral surgery services’.
She said suspension of the operating theatre’s use ‘is being presented as a matter of operational efficiency’.
However, she added: “Based on feedback I have received from clinicians who work regularly at the site, it appears likely to have serious consequences for patient care, staff morale and the resilience of our regional surgical network.”
She also said many sessions have been underused ‘because theatre lists have been reallocated centrally’.
“Cirencester Hospital has a strong record of safety, efficiency and adaptability,” she said.
“To dismantle or suspend this capacity at a time when surgical resources are already stretched would be a shortsighted and potentially-damaging step.”
The MP urged NHS leaders to commit to ‘full transparency, genuine consultation with clinicians and a proper plan to strengthen - not weaken - local services’.
She said there is an opportunity to expand Cirencester’s role, including developing it into a regional centre for hand surgery in partnership with Swindon.
NHS Gloucestershire - part of the One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System - said the NHS will trial the concept of ‘Centres of Excellence’ in Gloucestershire for six months.
This will ‘bring together specialist teams, equipment and best practice in a more focused way to explore whether this approach could improve care’.
It said theatre activity will stop in Cirencester for six months amid the test, but added plans have not been made for the future of Cirencester’s theatre and a review will be undertaken after the six-month trial.
It added it will reorganise two intermediate care wards at Cirencester Hospital to retain one intermediate care ward of 28 beds and create a 15-bed complex care unit to provide rehabilitative care to patients with a higher complexity of physical and mental health needs.
One of the existing wards in Cirencester will be temporarily shut and the staff team moved to a unit on the same site.
It added the amount of beds will be reduced by six.
NHS Gloucestershire said in a statement: “In October, the NHS in Gloucestershire confirmed temporary service-changes designed to test out the potential benefits of organising some services differently to improve patient care, experience and outcomes and increase efficiency.
“The changes relate to community theatres and community beds and will be monitored closely throughout.
“The service changes, including changes to individual healthcare facilities, are temporary in nature, and the impact on patient care and learning will form part of the evaluation.
Chief medical officer at NHS Gloucestershire Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram (Raghu) said: “It is important to stress that no plans have been made, or decisions made, about individual services, facilities or sites over the long term.
“This is about testing out new service models and ways of working.
“We look forward to reviewing the evaluation reports, including the views and experiences of patients and clinicians.
“The reports will be shared publicly at the end of the trial periods.
“We will continue to work closely with the county’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”
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