‘Help shape future of new hospital’

When the South Bristol Community NHS Hospital opened in Hengrove in 2012, it seemed to signal the end of a campaign that had spanned generations. After more than 50 years of local residents and politicians lobbying hard for a hospital to serve people who live south of the river, the dream had finally been realised.

But from the feedback I’ve been getting as the area’s local MP, it’s not as simple as that. Far from it.

The stunning new hospital, oozing with potential, is underused. With soaring demand for healthcare services it’s sad to see the building has spare capacity.

Meanwhile, people who live on its doorstep are still having to navigate Bristol traffic and public transport woes to attend medical appointments not at Hengrove, but across the city at Southmead, Cossham or the BRI. It doesn’t make sense.

I started to become concerned about all this before becoming Bristol South’s MP – even before I was Labour’s candidate, in fact. Working as a manager in the NHS, I of course knew of the hospital’s existence.

What at first shocked me was how many people living nearby did not. And even those who knew it was there, and that it had recently opened, had little awareness of what services were being offered. 

It was clear that the building could do so much more to meet local healthcare need. What’s more, with plans for over 1,000 new much-needed homes close to the hospital site in the next few years, demand for a fully functioning hospital for south Bristol can only increase.

So it’s clear to me that additional healthcare services at Hengrove would not just be welcomed by local residents: providing them also makes sense on so many other levels.

That’s why a couple of months ago I launched a community survey on the issue. It’s important that south Bristol people speak up to shape the future if we are to secure extra healthcare services in this terrific facility.

I wanted to find out about people’s experiences of using the hospital, and to get their views on how it could be developed, because this will help inform the work I do on my constituents’ behalf to try to further improve the situation. What should be the priority if extra healthcare services are going in there?

So my survey, delivered door-to-door and available online, gives local residents a chance to have their say. The early signs are encouraging – this is an issue that really engages people. They welcome being asked. We all love, value and pay for the NHS, so rightly we all want to play a part in its future.

A large majority who have so far taken part have direct experience of using the hospital. Feedback from these people is warm and positive.  It’s modern, comfortable and friendly, they tell me. Getting there, and parking, is easy. 

Bearing in mind most completed surveys to date come from people living within a mile or two of the hospital it’s perhaps staggering that two thirds currently travel elsewhere in the city for some healthcare. A large proportion of these are going to Southmead, which is a difficult journey but is where people are often directed for cancer-related treatment.

Early analysis shows nine out of ten people who’ve so far completed the survey want more services introduced at Hengrove. A seven-day GP service, and cancer screening services are the most sought-after extra facilities local people say they would like to see.

I want to spread the word far and wide to encourage as many local people as possible to speak up. I’ll be keeping the consultation running for a few more weeks and would like to invite Bristol24/7 readers to take part. 

It’s not only important that Bristolians shape the future of this facility. It’s logical too.

Take the survey here.