Save Our Hospitals

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Farewell, Bartlet...
A service of thanksgiving will be held to mark the end of nearly 82 years' service of the Bartlet Convalescent Home on Sunday 27th January 2008 at 2:30pm, on the prom near 'The Hut', in front of the Bartlet.. SOHAG is hoping that as many people as possible will attend, to bid farewell to the Bartlet before its doors are closed to the community for the last time. The service will be led by Revd Peter Leitch, and will give thanks for the nearly 82 years' service of the convalescent hospital, Dr Bartlet, and all staff, past and present.

Brian Nichols of SOFHAG, says, "We hope this will give the people of Felixstowe and East Suffolk the chance publicly to mark the closure of this much loved hospital, and Dr Bartlet's gift and the care that has been provided there for eight decades."

It is hoped that there will be a small display in the Cotman Hall, at the rear of Mrs Simpsons Tearooms in Undercliff Road East (next to the Fludyer Arms), before and after the service (and where the service could be held if the weather is bad).

Suffolk PCT Defends Its Process For Selling Bartlet (Felixstowe TV news story, posted on Wednesday 06 December 2006 - 08:48:02)

Peter Mellor and Councillor Michael Ninnmey, with Dr Janet Massey and Cherrie MacGregor, continue to ask questions about the sale of the Bartlet Hospital, in a Felixstowe TV video report here.

In response, Suffolk PCT has defended the way it is selling the Bartlet Hospital. Mark Crawley, project lead for Felixstowe General and the Bartlet hospitals, said, "We are taking a great deal of care over the sale of the Bartlet. The process we have started is extremely thorough and designed to make sure we get the best possible price as well as a sale that will protect the historic value of this building."

Mr Crawley continued, "We are currently waiting for expressions of interest to reach us on 15th December and this will be the start of a period of negotiation. This is all being done according to best practice and national guidance."

Peter Mellor, along with Cherrie MacGregor, had continued to ask about the suitability and cost of rehabilitation care in the community, and said there was still a need for 'step-down' beds for convalescing after a period in hospital. Dr Janet Massey said that GPs in the area were very pleased that the PCT will provide for the necessary care in the home, but that there would always be a proportion of patients who would find rehabilitation at home difficult. She also said that if the Bartlet were sold too cheaply, it would be difficult to buy back facilities or services of that quality again in future. Councillor Michael Ninnmey said that the deadline for bids to be in from potential purchasers was far too quick, and asked that the PCT's decision-making process on the sale be open and transparent.

The PCT has emphasised that it is working with the East of England SHA (Strategic Health Authority) and Suffolk Coastal District Council planners. It has said that it is obliged to market the hospital for community or residential home use, and that potential buyers must have experience and expertise with historic buildings. It has also repeated its reassurance that if bids which come forward are not appropriate, it will look at the sale again.

Letter to Carole Taylor-Brown, Suffolk PCT Chief Executive, on behalf of SOHAG, concerning the price at which the Bartlet is being marketed at. (30th November 2006)

Dear Carole Taylor-Brown,

Since the sale of the Bartlet Convalescent Hospital was announced we have had many enquiries from friends and others, especially during the Community Health Fair on Saturday (18 November). A "market value" of £1.95 million was given at the PCT meeting with the Town Council (on Wednesday 15 November) and this has been publicised. The value is widely thought to be much too low and it is less than two thirds of the "book value". Can you please confirm the up-to-date "book value" for the Bartlet, its annexe and the land.

From previous answers given to our questions about who gets the proceeds from the sale of the Bartlet, I recall that:
- The first £1 million is retained by the PCT.
- A business case has to be made to the Strategic Health Authority for any additional money.
- The StHA has indicated its willlingness to return all the proceeds to the PCT.
- The above three terms only apply to proceeds in excess of the "book value" and proceeds below "book value" return to the DoH.
Clearly item 4 above is crucial and is of considerable interest to me and many members of the public.

To avoid any misunderstanding, can you please explain:
a) What is the significance of the "market value" quoted?
b) What sum are you expecting to get - if not the "market value"?
c) What proportion will return to the SPCT?
d) Which parts of the NHS will get any additional portion?

I note that you have required a "clawback" clause to share the profit from a possible change of use and I wonder what impact this will have on the answers to my questions above. Many members of the public have questioned why the PCT doesn't apply for a change of use and gain 100% of the enhanced value.

Because so many people have asked us such questions, you might wish to give these answers to the local press directly. If you are not be able or willing to release your expected proceeds you might consider explaining the way the proceeds are distributed, possibly with a few examples.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Mellor.

Bartlet For Sale At Only £1.95 Million:
Report on the Extraordinary meeting of Felixstowe Town Council with Suffolk PCT (Wednesday 15th November at Broadway House)

Felixstowe Town Council held an open extraordinary meeting with representatives of Suffolk Primary Care Trust staff, based at PCT head office and Felixstowe, which was attended by around 35 members of the public.
A presentation was made by the PCT, giving a resume of how the current hospital configuration was arrived at, and how it was hoped matters would proceed now, by completing the tendering process for the upgrade work to the Felixstowe General by the end of November. It is hoped this work would begin early January and be completed late summer 2007.
Three illustrations were given of how the 'new model of care' would work in theory, without the need for the Bartlet. Councillors remained unconvinced and asked a number of questions about how this would work in practice. The PCT response was that 'this has got to work', as there will be no Bartlet or similar hospital available to revert back to as a 'Plan B'.
In the course of the evening it was revealed by Martin Royal of the PCT that the Bartlet is being marketed at a price of £1.95 million, and not the £3.5 reported in the local press, or the £3 million PCT 'book value'. It also became apparent that, contrary to what had been previously advised to the Save Our Felixstowe Hospitals Action Group, the sale of the Bartlet was still crucial to the upgrade of the General, as the PCT is in the meantime having to borrow the £1.4 million in the form of a bridging loan from the Strategic Health Authority.
Questions were then invited from the public, and the same unease as felt by Councillors was obviously apparent within the audience, particularly regarding the ability of health and social care agencies to work together, and especially the impact on the vulnerable and elderly.
The meeting ended with a request from the Mayor, Ann Rodwell, for a further meeting with the PCT to review progress in 6 months' time.

Public Meeting With Suffolk PCT on Wednesday 15th November 2006: The main focus of SOHAG was to try and retain both the Bartlet & Felixstowe General Hospitals. It would appear as though the fight for the Bartlet has been lost, since Patricia Hewitt rejected the referral made by Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee.
However, the Bartlet is still required in the short term, as services at Felixstowe General are being transferred there from Tuesday 7th November, in preparation of the £1.4 million upgrade of Felixstowe General. This means that the Bartlet is likely to be retained for use by the NHS until at least Autumn 2007.
The SOHAG position is that we have decided to NOT go down the route of a judicial review, for fear of putting the upgrade of Felixstowe General at risk.
We will, however, continue to monitor Suffolk Primary Care Trust, to try and ensure that the promises that have been given concerning the Felixstowe General are carried out, and the upgrade completed.
To that end, Felixstowe Town Council are holding a public meeting with Suffolk PCT representatives at 7:30pm on Wednesday 15th November at Broadway House in Orwell Road.
THIS IS A PUBLIC MEETING & TIME WILL BE ALLOWED FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
We would encourage all those interested in health matters in Felixstowe to attend this meeting.
[Submitted 08/11/06]

SOHAG are also going to have a stall at the Community Health Fair on Saturday 18th November at Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Orwell Road, between 10am-1pm, with information concerning the current state of the NHS in Felixstowe & nationwide.

30th May: You'll be able to see a SOHAG window display in Ashton Grahams - the solicitors over the road from Trinity Church - who have kindly given us use of their corner window between June 5th & 12th. There'll be pictures, news and information about our ongoing battle to Save Our Hospitals!

The Party, 21st May!
Not many large brick buildings on a cliff-top get to have a birthday party, but The Bartlet Convalescent Home's 80th birthday was celebrated in some style by Save Our Hospitals Action Group members and supporters on Sunday May 21st...
Despite truly dismal weather a group of 70 or 80 protesters started from the Herman De Stern at 2.45pm, followed by BBC and Felixstowe TV cameras along the prom - the Evening Star's photographer and Felixstowe editor Richard Cornwell also attended.
They kept up a good pace back to The Hut, on the front close to the Bartlet Hospital, where there were good supplies of tea and cakes, and a display of recent and historical material about the Bartlet and its record of service to the people of Felixstowe and East Suffolk.
Earlier in the afternoon, a cake was cut by 80 year old Monica Damant, who was born on the day the Bartlet officially opened, in 1926. You can meet her, and see the FTV video of the march, here.

4th April 2006:
A Great Day - 35 people from Felixstowe joined a crowd estimated at around a thousand to remind the politicians that ordinary people like us count, outside the House of Commons on 28th March. The rally brought together people from some of the 80 local community hospitals and health facilities around the country which are under threat from their local PCTs.

Digest from a letter to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State, from Jane Hore, Chair Suffolk Health Scrutiny Committee, Suffolk County Council
The intermediate model of care

Step down beds
The reasons for refusing to offer greater step down bed provision are entirely financial - a fact fully accepted by the PCT itself ("Hospital rehabilitation tends to be extremely costly", page 13, ‘Changing for the Better - the Next Steps’ consultation document). This is of particular concern.
The argument continues that "local intermediate care is good for the patient - it is often closer to relatives - and evidence has shown that care standards are higher. Intermediate care should be supported by tight integration of health and social care services to support patients in getting home as speedily as possible". [6.21]
In the light of this evidence, the Committee does not think that it is adequate for the PCT to offer "a limited step down provision for people requiring post acute care in exceptional circumstances and according to clinical needs of the individual" (paragraph 3.5, Board Report SECB06-Jan-03).

Closure of the Bartlet Hospital, Felixstowe

The original proposal was for "approximately 20 or less step up beds" to remain in the Felixstowe General Hospital (FGH). This total was reduced to 14 during the consultation period and then returned to "a maximum of 16 beds". The variation in the number of beds planned by the PCT signified two things to the Committee: first, that the PCT had inadequately prepared its proposals, and in fact did not have a clear idea what it was doing; and secondly, that the proposals were not based on a clinical needs assessment at all, as one would have defined the number of beds required.
The Committee was impressed with the plans it was shown for the development of FGH on 9 February 2006. However it is concerned that these were not in place at the start of the consultation period, have not been seen or discussed by the people of Felixstowe, and are not in any way finalised. Had any of this been the case the Committee would have felt far more confidence that these plans were firm, likely to proceed, and had the explicit commitment of the Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
There is a history of broken promises by the NHS in Suffolk, and this is particularly pertinent in Felixstowe, where the "Fresher Future for Felixstowe" listening exercise and subsequent board recommendations (Board Report B04\50, 9 June 2004) promised the continuation of both the Bartlet and the FGH, with 50 beds at the Bartlet and a bid for capital funding to improve the building. The complete undoing of these plans within a year - where there has actually been no change in clinical evidence or best practice, but only in the financial circumstances of the PCT - is evidence to explain the complete distrust that the community as a whole and the Committee itself feels for the NHS as a body, and the distrust felt that any of the proposals for the FGH will actually be delivered.

All the comments set out above about the model of care apply to the situation in Felixstowe. The public position of the GPs in the town has also been unanimously against the proposals.

The full text of the SCC letter is available on request.

For further info about SOHAG, email us here, or contact Mike Ninnmey on 01394 277658 or Roy Gray on 285827