A LEADING town councillor has hailed Evesham’s Community Hospital as the jewel in the town’s crown after county health chiefs secured £90,000 to examine the future options for the Waterside hospital.
Coun Frances Smith hailed the cash injection which will enable Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust bosses to conduct a feasibility study which will look at improvements to the current building to the potential for a new community hospital to be built elsewhere in the local area.
Community Hospitals play an important part in the local health system. They can support patients who are too poorly to remain at home but don’t require an acute hospital bed, or conversely patients can be discharged from an Acute Hospital to a Community Hospital after a serious illness or surgery before they are ready to return home. ]
Mrs Smith, Chair of the Evesham Community Hospital League of Friends said: “This is really great news for Evesham – the current Community Hospital is a jewel in Evesham’s crown so this review of options to improve the environment at the hospital is a very positive move forward in the Health and Care Trust’s commitment to continue providing important services within the local health care system.
“Although the present buildings are not ideal, the care which the staff provide is excellent, so any moves to improve facilities can only be to the good of the community.”
The cash has been released as part of the national One Public Estate programme, a partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit (GPU).
Sarah Dugan, Chief Executive at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said: “The Trust has long-recognised that the environment at Evesham Community Hospital isn’t ideal and so this funding will allow us to assess what the most viable and cost effective options are.
“The hospital is valued by the trust and the local community and while there may be changes to the types of services it provides in the future, this announcement is further evidence of our commitment to providing well-utilised local services in Evesham.”
The One Public Estate programme is an established national programme delivered in partnership by the LGA and the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit (GPU). One Public Estate began in 2013 with just twelve areas, but today operates with more than 250 councils on projects transforming local communities and public services right across the country.
Worcestershire has been involved in the One Public Estate (OPE) programme since it began in 2013 and partnership working across county-wide public sector bodies remains very strong. This collaborative approach to tackling the service delivery challenges facing the public sector is delivering more efficient and affordable services for the public.
Earlier this year, Worcestershire was successful in securing more than £1million in government funding to progress a number of exciting projects across the county, and as such was one of the highest awarded local authorities on a national level.
