There’s a chance to find out more about changes being proposed by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at drop-in events in Cheltenham and Gloucester this weekend.

Gloucestershire County Council’s Health, Community and Care Scrutiny Committee, is encouraging people to go along to the events on Saturday, March 27th to find out more and give their views. The first is at Cheltenham Town Hall’s Pillar Room and will run from 9.30am to 12.30pm. The second is at Gloucester Guildhall and will run from 2pm until 5pm. There will be a chance to talk to NHS representatives.

The committee raised concerns after the Trust announced last month proposals to close 200 beds at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals. The committee felt there should be more discussion about the proposed changes with the committee, other interested parties and the public on the detail and implications.

The committee called an urgent meeting (March 9th) to look in detail and discuss the proposed changes with Hospital Trust Chief Executive, Dr Frank Harsent, and PCT Chief Executive Jan Stubbings. The Trust agreed to delay making any changes to bed numbers until further consultation has been carried out.

As well as the drop-in sessions, the NHS will be making booklets available that set out the proposed changes and tell people how they can give their views. This booklet will also be available at www.nhsglos.nhs.uk with an online feedback facility. The GUiDE & PALS Information Bus will also visit each district with information about the changes and giving feedback. For dates and times, see the website.

Health Scrutiny Chair, Cllr Andrew Gravells, said: “We understand that the NHS is facing some tough budget challenges. However, the decision to reduce the number of beds in our two biggest hospitals must be scrutinised and consulted on in depth if we are going to understand the real impact it will have on staff and local people.

“I would encourage people to go along to these drop-in events to learn more about the changes proposed and tell the Trust representatives what they think about them. It’s important for local people to get involved so that we can get a clearer picture of how these changes could impact on them and their families.”

The county council’s Health, Community & Care Scrutiny committee is made up of elected councillors from all political parties. Their role is to provide a strong voice in identifying areas of under-performance or local concern andhold service providers (including the council) to account for their decisions, actions and policies. Cllr Andrew Gravells was recently voted Scrutiny Chair of the Year.

Members of the committee will be attending a stakeholder ‘Involvement Debate’, hosted by NHS Gloucestershire. This will give another opportunity to discuss the proposals to rearrange the way some services are organised at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals.