NO decisions had yet been made on the future of community hospital beds across the county, NHS bosses have told Somerset councillors.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust operates 13 inpatient wards across its 11 community hospitals, including in Minehead, Wellington, and Williton.

In the case of Wellington, the town’s 10 community beds were closed during the Covid lockdown of 2020 and have not been reopened.

The trust said it had no plans to use the beds, which have been physically removed, but refused to acknowledge they were ‘permanently closed’.

In the case of Minehead and Williton, it is looking at closing, relocating, or re-purposing the inpatient beds to put more emphasis on ‘pathway beds’ for patients to be moved out of acute hospitals for continuing treatment at home.

The trust is consulting on the future of the beds in response to the Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS.

The plans came under scrutiny by a Somerset Council committee where councillors raised concerns the proposals had not been properly developed and would lead to a drop in services.

Committee chairman Cllr Gill Slocombe said it seemed the trust was ‘putting the chicken before the egg’ because the announcement was made before people were given an opportunity to say what they thought of it.

But trust chief executive Dr Andy Heron said community hospitals would continue to have a vital role and represented ‘a massive opportunity’.

Dr Heron said: “The 10-year plan is perfect for Somerset.

“It is so much more difficult delivering healthcare to a rural population.

“The previous model of care that we have had has been very much centred around large, acute hospitals.

“This is our time, and if we did not have community hospitals, we would probably have to go out and get them.

“What we want to do with local communities is have a conversation about what is important to them.

“We can talk about a menu of possibilities, which includes urology and chemotherapy.

“We have begun to deliver the latter out in community hospitals, and there is so much more potential for that.

“If we do reduce beds, that will partly be a reflection of those conversations.”

Palliative medicine consultant Dr Charles Davis said community hospitals were ‘an emblem of a community’s health’ but services needed to evolve to meet modern needs.

Dr Davis said: “These changes are difficult for us and for members of the public.

“We need to make sure we are not wasting time with an inefficient system which is keeping people away from their homes.

“Our community hospitals’ role in rehabilitation is a really important part of their role now, and it will be important in their future.”

Council adult services portfolio holder Cllr Sarah Wakefield defended the possible closure of community hospital beds.

Cllr Wakefield said: ““There is no point being taken out of an acute hospital to be put in another bed.

“It just makes you less fit to carry on with your life.

“Losing beds does not mean your loved ones will not be treated properly.”