Hospital 'should be reopened' (From Penarth Times)

Hospital 'should be reopened'

SULLY Hospital should be reopened and used for rehabilitation purposes, a Penarth campaigner has said this week.

Using the site to its full potential would ease the crisis over hospital bed shortages, according to Max Wallis, co-ordinator for the Vale Mental Health Campaign.

He explained that the health watchdog, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), reviewed adult inpatient services early this year and released a critical report in June.

He said: 'Their key point was that the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust has a 'major problem' in the chronic shortage of hospital beds, which 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 said.

The Sully Forum decided in 1999 that Sully Hospital should be considered for continuing health care, and not be written off as the Bro Taf administration had proposed, explained Mr Wallis.

This view was strongly echoed in public meetings on the future of the hospital held in July 2000, and was endorsed by the Vale Community Health Council.

He explained that many senior medical staff supported 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.

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

Mr Wallis believes 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.'

In his opinion, Plaid Cymru should stop blaming Labour for Cardiff and the Vale's worsening hospital waiting lists, and put more effort into preventing the sale of Sully Hospital by the trust.

n Sully Hospital up and running again? - What do you think? Contact Gemma on 029 2070 3375.