RESPONSIBILITY for securing extra care housing and rehabilitation and care home beds in Thornbury is being taken up by South Gloucestershire Council.

The council announced it would take on the lead commissioning role for Thornbury and Frenchay Hospitals following a decision taken by the council’s Conservative cabinet on June 4.

Determined to be “at the forefront of health and social care integration” in the area, the council said they would be stepping in to work with health partners in to deliver the joint health and social care facilities “as quickly as possible” to bring this work to a faster conclusion.

The intended provision, subject to planning and a successful bid process, includes six-to-10 ‘step-up’ rehabilitation beds at Thornbury for those who perhaps for a short period are not able to remain at home but do not need treatment in an acute hospital.

Frenchay will have 45 to 55 ‘step-down’ rehabilitation beds for people who no longer need acute hospital care but need to regain life skills through a period of rehabilitation before returning home.

There will also be at least 72 care home beds in total across both sites including social care beds for dementia nursing, and an extra care housing scheme on each site of 50-to-80 dwellings per site.

SGC leader Cllr Toby Savage said: “The benefits to the council taking on the lead commissioner role will bring a number of important advantages to residents who need to access health and social care facilities in Frenchay and Thornbury.

“This is an exciting opportunity to genuinely integrate health and social care – and in Thornbury’s case to go that one step further and have enhanced GP services/primary care as a key feature of the plans too.

“Having as many services under one roof as possible maximises the opportunity to ensure that patients are getting the right care for them to maximise their independence.

“This is a welcome step in bringing this sorry and long-running saga to an end and working together across the NHS and local government to get in place the 21st century health and social care services and facilities that our residents deserve.”

Lib Dems on the council welcomed the initiative, but stressed the proposals do not go far enough.

Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, who represents Thornbury, said they had been “campaigning for new health and care facilities for Thornbury for years”, but that while the news was a step in the right direction, they were concerned that no plans were being put forward to replace outpatient services currently provided by Thornbury Hospital - which is due to be decommissioned.

“We would call upon the local NHS and the council to work together to draw up plans that will address all of Thornbury’s health needs, not just one aspect of them,” she said.

“In December Cllr Shirley Holloway and I successfully passed an amendment at council calling upon the Conservative administration to ensure that community stakeholder groups are set up as part of the process of commissioning new health services at Thornbury and Frenchay.

“We will be reminding the administration that they must honour this commitment to local people, to ensure that residents’ voices are heard as part of this process.”

The Lib Dem’s lead member for Heath Scrutiny, Cllr Sue Hope, said: “While we welcome any additional health services for South Gloucestershire, we must be clear that these proposals still fall far short of meeting future local health needs.

“The new Thornbury facility will likely see six-10 NHS beds and around 36 beds for dementia patients within a nursing home.

“This in no way constitutes a ‘new hospital’ for Thornbury, despite misleading Conservative claims to the contrary. We will continue to lobby Government and local health managers to deliver the health facilities local people need.”