Bed closures at Hull and East Yorkshire

Published: 20 June 2012

Bed closure at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals

The reported closure of 300 beds at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital is happening as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been working closely with nursing staff throughout the consultation process and  we have heard the concerns of and supported a number of local members employed by the Trust.

RCN Officer Sharon Benstead said: “It is hard to see how the closure of this many hospital beds can have anything other than a negative impact on the patient experience and staff morale.
“Although it may be true to say that no one will lose their job as a result of these changes it would be wrong to say that there will be no impact on staff. There has already been a freeze on recruitment at the trust for the past 18 months and many nursing staff will now have to be transferred, something which creates stress for members and makes it difficult to ensure continuity of care and safe staffing levels.”

In May, the RCN called on NHS organisations to halt the closure of hospital beds nationally until it has been demonstrated that alternative, tried and tested health and social care services are available, whether these are based in the community or another care setting.

Whilst the RCN supports moves to allow people to be receive care in a community setting as this is often more appropriate, the organisation would always want to know how this is to be achieved locally once hospital beds have been closed.

A recent survey commissioned by the RCN demonstrated that across the UK patients are being kept on trolleys for hours on end and treated in corridors that are not appropriate for care.

Sharon Benstead said: “We have already seen how our local hospital services cope at busy times; in the winter months both Hull Royal and Castle Hill hospitals were put on red and black alert as staff struggled to cope with the number of people turning up at A & E.
“Closing beds in an already overstretched service could mean that more people are treated in inappropriate areas, leading to distress for patients, their families, carers and the nursing staff charged with delivering care.”