Hospital site should reopen (From Barry And District News)

Hospital site should reopen

SULLY Hospital should be reopened, and used for rehabilitation purposes, a leading campaigner has claimed.

Keeping the site operational would ease the crisis over hospital bed shortages, according to Max Wallis, co-ordinator for Vale Mental Health Campaign.

The local resident believes the hospital could play a part in combating in patient service problems highlighted in the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) report earlier this year.

Mr Wallis told the News: "Their key point in the health watchdog's review was that the Trust has a 'major problem' in the chronic shortage of hospital beds. This leads to cancelled operations and patients placed on inappropriate wards.

"The fact that many hospitals have closed over the years, including CRI, Ely, Lansdowne, Hamadryad and Sully has emphasised the problem."

He also points to the Sully Forum which decided in 1999 that the site should be considered for continuing health care, and not be written off as the Bro Taf administration had proposed.

This view was also argued vigorously in the public meetings on the future of the hospital which took place in July 2000, and was endorsed by the Vale Community Health Council.

Mr Wallis further claims that many senior medical staff support the idea of using Sully Hospital for recuperative care, as their concern was to tackle the shortage of hospital beds for all types of patients.

And Bro Taf Health Authority Board conceded in September 2000 that 'Sully Hospital site will be considered as one option in the review of rehabilitation services'.

But Mr Wallis believed that this comment amounted to a betrayal of assurances, after many public meetings, held over withdrawing mental health services from Sully.

He said: "Neither the Trust nor the Health Authority has conducted the necessary public consultation over discontinuing Sully's use as a hospital."