Hospital hit by property crisis (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Hospital hit by property crisis

A LACK of affordable homes for nurses has been blamed for the continuing closure of eight beds at Bourton's Moore Cottage Hospital.

Shortly before Christmas health chiefs closed a ward and a side room at the hospital with the promise that the ward would reopen before the beginning of this month.

However, due to problems finding nurses in the Cotswolds, where the average house price has now spiralled to £371,000, the ward has remained empty this week.

In order to reopen the beds, three auxiliary nurses, two full-time qualified nurses and one part-time qualified nurse must be attracted to the hospital.

Qualified nurses can earn up to £22,015 but the maximum wage for auxiliaries is only £12,615 - a tiny fraction of even the cheapest flat in the area.

Cotswold and Vale Primary Care Trust has not given a date for the ward to reopen but a spokeswoman has confirmed that job interviews are under way.

Sheila Jeffery, who represents Bourton on Cotswold District Council, said she was extremely concerned that the beds had not reopened as promised by the trust. "I have followed these closures very closely and understand that the trust has had to advertise twice before being able to recruit staff and now there is a waiting time before the new staff can be in the hospital."

Trust spokeswoman Joanna Wynn said: "We are unable to reopen the ward until we have sufficient nursing staff. This is partly due to staff sickness and also due to our vacancy problem.

"For whatever reason, we've found it hard to recruit to some of our more outlying rural areas, particularly like the north Cotswolds, where the cost of living is significantly higher than the rest of the county."

Cotswold District Council spokeswoman Julie Underhill said schemes had been introduced to help low paid workers in the Cotswolds get a foot on the property ladder. "The council recognises the difficulties experienced by many first-time buyers, including key workers who require a helping hand onto the home ownership ladder. Various forms of assistance are available."

The decision to close the ward at Bourton was part of efforts by the trust to shave £2.8million pounds from its budget - caused by a £5.5million cash shortfall that it inherited at its inception three years ago.

Moreton Cottage Hospital also had its eight-bed Thursby Ward closed but these beds were reopened as promised shortly after New Year.

Moore Cottage runs on a staff of eight Registered General Nurses on day duty, six on nights and four at the day hospital, along with 13 nursing auxiliaries on days and six on nights.