Full story at County Gazette 16 April 2018
INPATIENT wards at Somerset’s community hospitals could begin re-opening as early as June, provided that more nurses can be recruited.
The Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust operates 13 community hospitals across Somerset, providing more than 200 inpatient beds.
Chard and Shepton Mallet’s hospitals saw their in-patient wards temporarily closed in October, along with one of the two wards at Dene Barton hospital in Cotford St Luke near Taunton.
Now the trust has stated that it is “optimistic” that one of the sites could reopen soon as it strives to recruit more nurses from outside the European Union.