Pause in Haslemere Hospital Inpatient Services | News

We have taken the difficult decision to pause inpatient services at Haslemere Hospital from 22nd May due to operational and safety factors. This will only affect the two inpatient wards, Elizabeth Ward and Godwin Ward, which primarily provide rehabilitation care to 16 patients. This is a temporary suspension of the service and not a permanent decision to close the wards.

All other services at Halsemere Hospital, including the Minor Injuries Unit, are unaffected and will run as usual.

For many years the medical (doctor) cover for the two wards has been successfully provided by a local GP practice. They have served notice on the contract to provide this, effective from 22nd May and we have been working hard to explore alternative options. Despite our best efforts we have been unable to identify a solution that will ensure the provision of 24/7 safe and high quality care on these wards.

This has led to the difficult decision to temporarily pause inpatient services at Haslemere Hospital. Over the next two weeks we will safely discharge existing patients, in line with their medical care plan, and not admit any new patients to the beds. If any patients require our care beyond 22nd May we will plan to transfer them to another appropriate inpatient setting within the trust.

We have reassured all patients currently on the wards that they will continue to receive the same high level of care over the next two weeks whilst the beds are open. The wards will be fully staffed and all the usual care and services will be available.

We have also been working closely with all staff members affected by this change and reassured them that no jobs are at risk. We will support all members of the team to identify suitable redeployment opportunities during this temporary pause.

We continue to look at solutions to provide the necessary medical cover and re open the beds but this situation has highlighted a key challenge. Haslemere Hospital is a vital part of our trust’s future and we need to look at all the services we currently provide and could potentially provide to best serve our patients in a sustainable way.

This will be a longer term piece of work that we will undertake with our local health partners. It will involve widespread engagement with staff, patients, key stakeholders such as our dedicated League of Friends group, and the broader Haslemere community.