CONCERNS have been raised over NHS plans to ‘part-privatise’ one of the region's oldest hospitals.

Councillors in South Gloucestershire said they had been shocked at news the contract to run Frenchay Hospital would be outsourced to the private sector when it is downgraded to a health and social care unit.

Cllr Ian Scott (Labour, Filton), said: "This revelation came completely out of the blue.

"I don’t think anyone ever expected that the new community hospital at Frenchay would not stay entirely within the NHS."

North Bristol Trust (NBT), which currently runs Frenchay, has announced that although doctors, therapists, staff operating diagnostic equipment and secretarial support will be NHS, the overall running of the community hospital will be operated privately when it opens in 2014. In addition, nurses in charge of 68 beds at a new rehabilitation centre will also be private. NBT chief executive Ruth Brunt said the move would make the project financially viable.

"We want the new health and social care centre to be available to coincide with the opening of the new acute hospital at Southmead in 2014," she said.

"We will be advertising for a third party partner to build the new centre at Frenchay with the NHS leasing back the facilities.

"This model offers the advantage of flexibility in that if the NHS needed more than the 68 beds contracted for, there would be potential capacity within the third party provided beds to accommodate this increased demand.

"However, if demand for NHS beds reduced, there would be an option for the third party provider to utilise any unused NHS beds thus ensuring best use of resources.

"Obviously all of the options will be carefully explored before we commit to a contract with a third party partner."

Cllr Andy Perkins (Lab, Woodstock), chairman of the council’s health scrutiny committee, called the move ‘worrying and unwelcome’.

He said. "This part-privatisation was never part of the original plans for redeveloping Frenchay. This new proposal for Frenchay will remove NHS provision in our area."

NBT expects to sign a contract with the successful bidder at the end of 2012.

Meanwhile, surgeons at Frenchay Hospital have operated on a number of Libyan civilians injured in the recent conflict there. Two men in their 20s have been treated at the hospital in an agreement with the Department of Health, which has seen 27 patients brought to the UK and paid for by the Libyan government.