South Gloucestershire | Archive | 2006 | February | 3
From the archive, first published Friday 3rd Feb 2006.
A STUDY into the affect downgrading Frenchay Hospital will have on traffic in South Gloucestershire has been branded a whitewash by civic leaders.
The report, released on behalf of the Bristol Health Services Plan (BHSP), claims that many people in the region will have improved access to hospital services and at worst be caught up in delays lasting only an extra ten minutes.
Conservative councillors, however, said that the study is missing the point.
Cllr John Godwin (Winterbourne), chairman of the Save Frenchay Hospital group, told the Gazette that the report was showing journey times to proposed community hospitals but failing to highlight increased travel times to Southmead Hospital. Southmead will become the area's only main hospital when Frenchay is downgraded and health centres are expanded in Yate, Thornbury and Kingswood.
He said: "This report is a whitewash and pointless because most people are not particularly concerned about how long it takes them to get to a community hospita with limited facilities. What is critical is how long it takes them to get to the A&E department at a major hospital.
"The fact that the figures for A&E journey times and minor injuries have been included on the same basis has totally distorted."
The report, which was conducted by the Local Authority Joint Strategic Planning and Transportation Unit, examined travel and access issues for patients, visitors and staff travelling to different hospital and community sites in north Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
Cllr Godwin also claims the time predictions in the report are underestimated.
He said: "I would challenge anyone from the NHS to come with me to Frenchay Hospital at rush hour and get to Southmead Hospital in three minutes. To cover the extra distance you would have to do 80miles an hour for the entire route.
"The systematic campaign to discredit Frenchay continues by using slanted, biased and generally false arguments designed to try and persuade people that they are better off having their local hospital downgraded and made reliant upon one which is four miles further away via the most congested roads in South Gloucestershire."
Penny Harris, chief executive of South Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, said that work is set to start to ensure that people in South Gloucestershire receive improved access to NHS services.
"Between May and July we are planning a major public consultation on options for improving services in Kingswood and district," she said.
"An important criterion for appraising the options will be how they can improve access to NHS services for local people in outer east Bristol and the south of South Gloucestershire."
From the report the JSPTU has recommended a better bus service to Southmead Hospital and suggested that additional health facilities could be beneficial in South Gloucestershire.
The study was set to be discussed, alongside the north Bristol and South Gloucestershire Outline Business Case, at the Strategic Health Authority meeting yesterday.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008