New hospital is not a nursing home, says health trust boss

7:10pm Thursday 15th May 2008

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MALVERN'S new community hospital is not being designed as a nursing home for the town's elderly, says a health chief.

Paul Bates, chief executive of Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT), was responding to criticisms that the new hospital would not be big enough to cope with the district's elderly population.

"We're building a hospital, not a nursing home," he said.

"There are a lot of people saying "build this bigger" - the plans are already for a bigger hospital than the one we have at the moment.

"For a bigger hospital the amount of money also becomes bigger which takes it to the risk margins where it's not affordable."

The issues were raised by the public as PCT project managers launched a series of consultation exercises across the county between Wednesday, April 16, and Friday, May 9.

The population of over 65s in the Malvern Hills district is projected to grow by 10 per cent and the over 85s by 25 per cent by 2011.

Mr Bates, who addressed a PCT board meeting in Perhore Civic Centre on Wednesday, said the Strategic Health Authority already thought the hospital may be too large.

The 24-bed community hospital at Seaford Court is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2010, paid for with £19.3 million grant from the Department of Health.

The hospital has 30 per cent more beds than the previous hospital at Lansdowne Crescent in Malvern.

The consultation has involved 5,000 documents being sent to GP surgeries and health centres.

The trust hopes the SHA will give the outline business plan the green light and that a planning application will be handed by the end of June.

Planners are expected to decide on the planning application by the end of August.

The next update will be at the PCT board meeting on Wednesday, July 16.

Meanwhile, exciting plans have been unveiled for a new community hospital in Evesham. Worcestershire Primary Care Trust is considering plans to set up a project to look at the health needs of Evesham and its districts.