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Summary of report content

In March 2017, Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent produced a report looking into the public view of the potential closure of community hospital beds. The report presented the views of 106 people who responded to a survey. Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent communicated the concerns of the public about the proposed changes and offered the opportunity for the local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to address them. The report stated that many of the respondents did not disagree with plans to move care closer to home and recognised that there is a case for change but were concerned about the timing of and capacity to deliver. There is extensive commentary on the feedback within the report and also a section of provider responses. However, the following highlights some of the key themes raised by the public: • People expressed concerns about the ability of the present system to cope, before these changes are put in place. • There was also concern about capacity, specifically in rural areas where people may be more isolated. • The most comments received were about the potential impact on quality of care. • A lack of 24-hour care has been pointed out by respondents. This is seen to impact upon things such as continence care. • Respondents raised questions about accountability, such as who would be responsible for the coordination of care. Responses from commissioners were given to 18 questions raised within the report and can be seen from page 13 onwards.

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