On behalf of the Conservative Town Group, Swaffham Councillor Ian Sherwood has called on the Town Council to work with Norfolk Primary Care Trust to find a “long term solution” that would guarantee the future of a community hospital in Swaffham.
Councillor Sherwood told the Council’s meeting on 16 May that the PCT Board had indicated at public meetings in the Town that the existing hospital is not big enough to be economically viable, but had acknowledged that their proposals for the future of intermediate care in the county did not fully address the need for beds in West Norfolk.
Councillor Sherwood told the Council that he has recently met local MP Christopher Fraser, who has been leading the campaign to save Swaffham Community Hospital. Following his discussions with Christopher Fraser, he proposed that the Town Council should work with the PCT to examine other alternatives, particularly the possibility of a new hospital on another site in Swaffham. He called on Councillors to consider offering part of the allotment site, a proposal which he believed would meet with “massive support” locally.
Councillor Sherwood said, “I am grateful to our MP, Christopher Fraser, for the positive way in which he has been leading the campaign to save Swaffham Community Hospital. His involvement has ensured that the wide-spread concern about the PCT’s proposals has been registered at the highest level and his determination to find a positive way forward has encouraged us to look beyond the terms of the consultation document for a better way forward.”
Christopher Fraser said “In the short term, I hope that the Government may yet come to the rescue of the PCT, which was lumbered with a massive debt that it cannot be easy to deal with. In the long term, I have made a commitment to the people of Swaffham and surrounding area that I will do all that I can to ensure that we have a community hospital in the town. I have been talking to members of the Town Council in the hope that we can unlock the potential of the current site or, if that is not viable, secure another site in Swaffham that would meet the long term requirements of the PCT.
“I am also mindful that the Government announced last January that it was committed to building 50 community hospitals over the next 5 years and had set aside £750 million for this initiative. I understand that only a fraction of this money has been invested. I would offer my absolute support to a bid by Norfolk PCT for financial support towards a new community hospital in Swaffham.
“I am convinced that by working with Norfolk PCT, Swaffham Town Council and other stakeholders, we can unlock a solution that will maintain intermediate care in Swaffham, for the sake not only of those who live in the town but also those in the wider catchment area of South West Norfolk.” |