A heated debate broke out about the draft plan for healthcare in the county and the future of Ross-on-Wye community hospital.
Ross-on-Wye Town councillors disagreed on what the draft Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Herefordshire and Worcestershire could mean for the town.
The draft is available to read online and in the 84-page document one of the options considered for the future of healthcare in the county reads: “Some community hospitals may be able to operate as bedless, e.g. as a ‘locality hub’ for domiciliary based community services integrated with primary care.”
The draft places the emphasis on providing care at home and explains how the system needs to change over the next five years, otherwise there will be a funding gap of £311m by the end of 2020/21 across the two counties.
Julian Utting is running in the Ross-on-Wye by-election on March 23 and collected 500 signatures opposing any cuts to beds at Ross Community Hospital.