THE FRIENDS of Williton Community Hospital is set continue its campaign against the closure of six beds in the stroke unit.

Six of the twelve beds will be closed in January by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group in order to finance the Early Supported Discharge Service (EDS) in West Somerset.

At the start of November leading West Somerset councillors were delighted to announce they had negotiated concessions so that patients could be supported at Minehead Community Hospital by the ESD service rather than travelling to South Petherton.

But the League of Friends say this is not enough and are calling on the CCG to save the 'essential service'.

Barbara Heywood, secretary for the League of Friends said: "The EDS initiative has apparently proved successful elsewhere but has serious shortcomings in an area such as this.

"West Somerset has an increasingly ageing population in sometimes extremely isolated rural settings. There is very poor public transport and travelling can prove very difficult in adverse weather conditions.

"Add to that the fact that some properties are still without electricity or mains water. The ability to support patients on early discharge will prove difficult in the extreme especially in cases where spouses or partners are themselves elderly or infirm and without the necessary facilities to cope."

The League of Friends of the hospital has launched a campaign in an effort to have this decision reversed on the grounds that the rurality of the area makes it neither practical nor of benefit to the patients it is supposed to serve and will be making their case at West Somerset Council's scrutiny meeting on Thursday, December 15.

Mrs Heywood added: "Williton's stroke unit is regarded as a centre of excellence, we have specialist nurses and this is an important central location in West Somerset.

"Williton has traditionally had patients transferred from Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton when they no longer needed to be in an acute hospital but were still in need of hospital care.

"Musgrove Park is now seriously overcrowded with severe bedblocking but Williton will be unable to ease the situation if beds are closed there."