FEARS were raised this week that Williton Community Hospital could lose its outpatient services, having already lost its dedicated stroke unit - but the claim was strenuously denied by health chiefs.

District councillors say they have proof that patients are being sent to clinics in either Taunton or Minehead rather than to their local hospital in Williton.

At Monday's meeting of West Somerset Council's scrutiny committee, they called the situation "ridiculous" and said they feared "figures could be massaged" to show the Williton service was underused and, therefore, not needed.

And they called for "action not words" after discovering little had changed on the ground at the hospital since they met NHS bosses six months ago to seek reassurances about the facility's future.

Williton district councillor Eddie May told Monday's meeting he had personally had to travel to outpatient appointments elsewhere in Somerset for treatment that had previously been available in Williton.

"The outpatient service in Williton is not being used. People have to go to Minehead or Taunton now. It's ridiculous," he said.

Scrutiny member Cllr Mandy Chilcott said she feared the worse after Williton's dedicated stroke unit was closed when hospital bosses said there was no longer a demand for the beds.

Instead, stroke services were amalgamated into a single ward with general admission beds, with a further 12 beds promised to be kept on 'standby' if demand increased.

"We've seen it already with stroke patients and now they are doing it with outpatients.

"It's totally unacceptable and a way of massaging the figures," Cllr Chilcott said.

But a spokesman for Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust categorically denied the accusation.

"Comments by some district councillors suggesting that outpatient clinics have either stopped or are being run down to create a case for closing Williton Community Hospital are completely untrue," he said.

"On the contrary, Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has given a clear commitment to staff and the local community that the hospital will remain open and will be developed to become the local focus for community health services in Williton and the surrounding area."

The comments came when councillors discussed a response from Judith Brown, the NHS partnership's director of community health services, to their request for an update on the situation at the hospital.

In particular, committee chairman Cllr Keith Ross had sought assurances on the progress of the reopening of Grace's Room, which provided overnight accommodation for families of terminally ill patients, which closed when the stroke unit shut last year.

Mrs Brown's detailed, two page response, confirmed the room had not yet reopened and explained plans were being developed for the hospital, including the enhancement of Grace's Room and "further outpatient services, including paediatric audiology and a renal clinic".

She said the process had been "complicated" by the fact the building was owned by one arm of the NHS while services were operated by another.

"The planning for any changes to the hospital is at a preparatory stage, with the initial involvement of an architect, the development of draft plans and a costing schedule.

"The next stage in the development is for the funding schedule to be finalised and then for Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to consult with staff and other key stakeholders, for example the league of friends, in order to agree the final specification and to maximise the opportunity to enhance the services provided from the hospital," Mrs Brown said in her letter.

Cllr Martin Dewdney said he was extremely disappointed by the lack of physical progress at the hospital and said, in reality, nothing had changed in the last six months.

"It's not good enough. It's all words and no action.

"We want to see action to see people being treated locally.

"They are saying one thing and then doing something else," Cllr Dewdney said.

Councillors pledged to keep the pressure on hospital bosses and to seek clarification on the timescale on the upgrades promised in Mrs Brown's letter.

In a statement to the Free Press, the NHS partnership spokesman confirmed Grace's Room had not reopened yet but plans for the reopening were in the process of being finalised.

"These plans also include further developments of the hospital's wards with improvements to bathrooms, accommodation for patients' relatives and a dedicated ambulatory care bay.

"Initial architects' plans have been shared with staff who, along with the hospital's league of friends, who will also have the opportunity to input their views on the proposed plans over the next few weeks.

"Members of West Somerset Council are always welcome to contact the trust should they have questions or concerns about the community hospital which they feel require further clarification," the spokesman said.

l Scrutiny committee members also voiced disquiet with the level of out-of-hours GP care in West Somerset and pledged to investigate the issue in-depth over the coming months.