What's more important, bricks or people? ask hospital campaigners

1:00pm Thursday 14th February 2013 in News By Katie Clark

IDEAS: Christchurch Hospital could be set for a big change IDEAS: Christchurch Hospital could be set for a big change

A CHRISTCHURCH residents’ association has hit out at critics of the hospital plans, urging people to back the scheme or face losing their valued services.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust have resubmitted plans for Christchurch Hospital after members of the planning committee at Christchurch council refused the £10million proposals earlier this year.

The scheme included the demolition of the historic H Block and G Block – former workhouse infirmaries – as well as proposals to build an 80-bed care home, 36 senior living apartments and 81 keyworker flats.

But now, due to concerns about the bulk and mass of the buildings, the hospital has revised the plans, reducing the number of keyworker flats to 78 and altering the design and features of the buildings set to replace the former workhouse infirmary.

However, local historians are still unhappy with the proposals, continuing to question why H Block has to be removed, despite the hospital’s director of service development, Richard Renaut, saying the building is unfit for healthcare use.

Jim Biggin, chairman of West Christchurch Residents Association said: “We are at a loss to understand how anybody can view the retention of bricks and mortar as more important than the provision of medical facilities for local people.

“We view the proposed enhancement of hospital services combined with the relocation of the GP practice, the key worker housing, the senior living apartments and the nursing home as entirely beneficial to all of Christchurch.

“We believe that without such progress the hospital will eventually close and the Macmillan Unit will thus also be forced to relocate. This will force local residents into awkward and inconvenient trips to Bourne-mouth or even Poole.

“In our view the ongoing provision of local hospital facilities to the people of Christchurch far outweighs more parochial considerations such as the misguided attempts to preserve an empty, unlisted building of questionable architectural merit.”

Should the plans not be approved on March 14, funding for the GP surgery proposed for the site, will be lost, the Trust says.

Comments(14)

bibocherry says...
1:15pm Thu 14 Feb 13

There is nothing wrong with the existing H and G blocks, they simply need a bit of a tidy up and are ready to go. It is only a certain person saying that they are not fit for purpose. This IS a money spinning scheme for the NHS and brownie points for the people involved. J, K and L have now been demolished so there is noting stopping the GP surgery being built. All other services can still operate out of the existing buildings with very little work being done. G block has already had to partially re-open. Maternity could quite easily occupy H Block for the next six months until the bed situation at Bournemouth settles. As for the nursing home - like I say this is very big money (or should I say profit for the Bournemouth NHS trust).

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woby_tide says...
1:34pm Thu 14 Feb 13

bibocherry wrote:
There is nothing wrong with the existing H and G blocks, they simply need a bit of a tidy up and are ready to go. It is only a certain person saying that they are not fit for purpose. This IS a money spinning scheme for the NHS and brownie points for the people involved. J, K and L have now been demolished so there is noting stopping the GP surgery being built. All other services can still operate out of the existing buildings with very little work being done. G block has already had to partially re-open. Maternity could quite easily occupy H Block for the next six months until the bed situation at Bournemouth settles. As for the nursing home - like I say this is very big money (or should I say profit for the Bournemouth NHS trust).
so if a not-for profit organisation makes a healthy profit on something that is then reinvested within the trust. Is that good or bad management?

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bsjc1234 says...
1:48pm Thu 14 Feb 13

With an ageing UK population and with Christchurch’s own population increasing showing the biggest over 65+ group in the South (ONS 2011 Census) this application needs all the help it can get, it needs anyone’s support who live in Christchurch, Highcliffe and surrounding areas….unless you like travelling to Poole!

You need to email your support for the plan to this email address planning.admin@chris
tchurchandeastdorset
.gov.uk
Quoting these planning application numbers 8/13/0028 and 8/13/0029 and also to include your name, address and Postcode before February 27, 2013. REMEMBER you must include all these details for your support to count.

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coster says...
1:51pm Thu 14 Feb 13

It depends upon where it is spent (Wo-betide). If the plan is to use the money on the further development of an overcrowded and breaking down facility instead of utilising a unit which is required by a large number of people, then it is reasonable to investigate the reasoning.

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FrogKiss says...
2:12pm Thu 14 Feb 13

The current plans are detailed plans of the nursing home which will heavily encroach on the green conservation area at the front of the site, and the senior living accommodation which will curve around corner of the entrance. Both of these are being operated and built by the Quantum group and are a private enterprise. The senior living will be sold off, and the nursing home will be privately run, with Quantum and the NHS brokering some sort of deal on revenue split. The remainder of the application for the key worker housing and gp surgery etc are for outline permission. I don't expect anybody in the borough has any objection to extending the hospital facilities at christchurch. But if this application is passed, the private monstrosities will be built straight away within the conservation area. The rest of the plans will most likely be deferred until a decision is made on the merger. Then I question will they actually be detailed and built? Or simply shelved?
If H block is to be demolished then let's extend and modernise the hospital from the front, providing modern frontage and a nice landscaped gateway into christchurch. The nursing home should be relocated to the rear of the site. In my view the plans are wrong and I believe a better solution could be submitted which would generate just as much money for the hospital. Nobody wants to lose services but do we really want a monster private building dwarfing the hospital on the open space???
Please go back to the drawing board!
Councillors give outline permission for the GP surgery so they can obtain their £2million pound funding, but defer the remainder until better plans are in place!

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ajj-dorset says...
2:18pm Thu 14 Feb 13

"We view the proposed enhancement of hospital services combined with the relocation of the GP practice, the key worker housing, the senior living apartments and the nursing home as entirely beneficial to all of Christchurch"

How so? how does selling off NHS land to a property developer so they can build a private nursing home that I will never be able to afford, benefit "all of christchurch" how will yet another boots the chemists, benefit "all of christchurch" how does building a few flats benefit "all of christchurch"

Perhaps the criticism should be more accurately levelled at the trust who seem intent on making the changes, selling the land and closing services? Changes which will most certainly have a detrimental effect on "all of christchurch"

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the smiling assassin says...
2:53pm Thu 14 Feb 13

I would suggest that anyone with an interest in keeping Poole Hospital open watches these developments closely and vigorously opposes them. I prophesise that in the next ten years the Board of Bournemouth Hospital will do exactly the same to Poole as they have done to Christchurch Hospital. After all as a foundation Trust Bournemouth is being run as a private business and therefore needs to make a profit each year!
*
Poole Hospital services will be gradually removed, reshaped or downsized to the point that large parts of the hospital become unused and un-needed. They will then sell that land off to property developers too, making large profits for Bournemouth and leaving Poole residents with a cottage hospital service and the need to travel to Bournemouth for virtually all their healthcare needs - exactly as they have done to the residents of Christchurch
*
You mark my words!

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coster says...
3:26pm Thu 14 Feb 13

bsjc1234 wants us to SUPPORT these plans!!!.
If you wish to OPPOSE then using the same address details let the Planners know!.

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coster says...
3:58pm Thu 14 Feb 13

CORRECTION - when E-Mailing please address to Planning.Admin@Chris
tchurch.Gov.UK
Sorry for copying brjc1234 error.

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guisselle says...
6:26pm Thu 14 Feb 13

bsjc1234 wrote:
With an ageing UK population and with Christchurch’s own population increasing showing the biggest over 65+ group in the South (ONS 2011 Census) this application needs all the help it can get, it needs anyone’s support who live in Christchurch, Highcliffe and surrounding areas….unless you like travelling to Poole!

You need to email your support for the plan to this email address planning.admin@chris

tchurchandeastdorset

.gov.uk
Quoting these planning application numbers 8/13/0028 and 8/13/0029 and also to include your name, address and Postcode before February 27, 2013. REMEMBER you must include all these details for your support to count.
I agree that Christchurch needs to
have a decent hospital.

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Live Laugh Love says...
7:15pm Thu 14 Feb 13

I totally agree with BSJC1234 and guisselle.

We need to keep our services in Christchurch. I, for one, do not want to have to travel to Bournemouth or Poole for hospital appointments and blood tests.

Christchurch Hospital is well known for its fantastic rehabilitation service; please don’t make these patients travel further than is necessary to get the treatment they need.

The key worker housing is essential so that we can encourage the best hospital staff to the area, after all, it is for our benefit in the long run.

BACK THESE PLANS and keep Christchurch Hospital open.

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coster says...
1:28pm Fri 15 Feb 13

The supporters of these plans are asking for the removal of Christchurch Hospital in order to provide a care home and housing, it does nothing for the people of Christchurch merely swells the RBH coffers.

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Live Laugh Love says...
1:59pm Fri 15 Feb 13

coster wrote:
The supporters of these plans are asking for the removal of Christchurch Hospital in order to provide a care home and housing, it does nothing for the people of Christchurch merely swells the RBH coffers.
Actually, they are not getting rid of Christchurch Hospital; they just need to pull down an ugly Victorian building at the front and another one at the back that is being propped up.

If these proposals don’t go through then we will lose vital services.

I think the councillors should remember that people voted them in, not buildings.

If they let down the people of Christchurch again on the 14th March then there will have to be an enquiry as to why they are not listening to the public majority that want to keep Christchurch Hospital open.

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coster says...
2:19pm Fri 15 Feb 13

What vital services? they say that Bloods, XRay will be retained in all plans. The removal of nursing services by the removal of the blocks is the item under threat. They state that the block is unfit for use whereas others state that it is fully capable of restoration, it would seem its destruction is due to the needs of the commercial developer.In fact several of the so called services currently 'available' are of a very restricted nature and being wound down in order to ease transfer.

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