Cautious optimism for Thame hospital’s future

THE establishment of the pilot scheme for the Health Hub at Thame Hospital almost a year ago,  means that, for the first time in years, the League of Friends of Thame Community Hospital says that it is feeling ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the future of their hospital. Indeed, the league believes that ‘there is growing enthusiasm for the project in the wider Thame community’.

Previous ‘fear of the place being closed altogether’

In a statement today, Sarah Taylor, of Rycote Park, near Thame, Chair of the League explained: “The hospital had always been associated with beds, originally used for a mixture of respite and patients needing overnight monitoring. Over the years, the number of beds had dwindled to a level that was not financially viable and the small number of beds meant that, more often than not, they were occupied by patients from outside Thame: they couldn’t be kept free on the off chance that a Thame patient might need one. Although there was a lot of activity at the hospital, we lived in constant fear of the place being closed altogether.”

‘A new lease of life’ for Thame hospital

“The growing consensus that frail elderly patients should be kept out of hospital,” continued Sarah, “and at home for as long as possible has in fact potentially given our hospital a new lease of life. What we want is a hospital that is there for the people of Thame and surrounding areas and is, in modern parlance, sustainable. That is, it should have a role that is genuinely useful and affordable for the long term.

“The current pilot scheme offers the vision of just such a role, combining as it does: the excellent CATS (community ambulatory treatment service) which assesses vulnerable patients and provides solutions to keep them at home and prevent admission to A&E; the existing physiotherapy service; the Day Hospital providing rehabilitation and preventative treatments; an increased number of clinics provided by consultants and other healthcare professionals coming from Stoke Mandeville and the John Radcliffe Hospital; input from the voluntary sector such as Carers Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; support from the neighbouring GP practices; more diagnostic services in the community; facilities for the Day Centre. The Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust that runs the Hospital is working closely with stakeholder groups to adapt to local needs and break down barriers between Hospital and the Community.”

‘The hospital needs more investment’

Sarah continued: “Of course, these are early days and all is by no means perfect. We must work hard to ensure that all the GPs in the locality use the services to help make them viable and that patients are aware of what is on offer and push to be referred to the hospital rather than have to go further afield for assessment and treatment. The hospital needs investment in better IT and better equipment. Recruiting staff in an area where housing is so expensive remains a perennial problem. The GPs next door are bursting at the seams and need bigger premises. The transition between healthcare and social care is desperately short of the mark. Keeping people at home only works if there is support for them and their carers. We all must work towards finding solutions to these problems.”

She concluded: “We have been given a commitment that, should the pilot fail, the beds will be restored and the hospital returned to what it was. However, we all know that that is not viable in the long run. Therefore, as a League, we are keen for the pilot to be successful and to be confirmed as the policy for the future.”