ALTHOUGH people in Thornbury will be welcoming the news of a 74-bed unit for the rehabilitation and long term care of patients from South Gloucestershire on the current hospital site, we still have many questions and some reservations about the plans.

It is great that our long campaign to secure hospital beds in Thornbury has apparently been successful, and excellent news that local people will continue to be able to stay close to home when they need this type of care, and will only have to go to the major hospital when they are acutely ill.

But unfortunately at a meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee last week, NHS managers could not confirm what would happen to the out-patients unit on the site. Councillors were told it would be replaced but not exactly when or where.

It could become part of a replacement health centre, but as yet there are no plans for that building. Or it could be incorporated into the new hospital building. We were very disappointed to hear that there was no intention to increase these services as originally planned. Because there is now capacity at Yate and Cossham, instead of increasing local out-patient services it seems we may well lose what we already have.

So although there is a firm intention to build a new hospital, with a much needed extra care housing scheme on the site, there is no funding in place, no decision on where to put an outpatients department, and no plan to replace the ageing health centre. So while welcoming the latest news, we will continue to campaign for a comprehensive plan that will give all the users of health services in Thornbury the facilities they need and deserve.

We hope that Luke Hall MP will talk to those of us who have spent many years working to get these services for the town. Then he can understand the whole project, which is broader than just the part which the NHS may decide to deliver.

Cllrs Maggie Tyrrell and Shirley Holloway

Thornbury Hospital Campaign Group