BMJ 1994;308:857 (26 March)

Letters

Community hospitals

Many provide acute services

Editor,--Sam Ramaiah raises several relevant issues relating to community hospitals today.1 The experience he reports from South Tees, however, focuses only on the non-acute aspects of care in such hospitals. His vision of an administrative centre with little acute medical activity is far removed from reality.

Many community hospitals are already adapting to meet the challenges of providing acute care. Day surgery and minimal access techniques are expanding the range of surgical activity currently suitable for such hospitals. The introduction of ultrasound imaging, gastrointestinal endoscopy, and desk top laboratories has greatly enhanced locality diagnostic services.

In the present climate in the NHS, specialists are increasingly aware of patients' preference to be seen and treated in their own community and of general practitioners' preference for this. The planned development of community based services with a 40% reduction in beds in district general hospitals; a considerable increase in . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Community hospitals in the new NHS
S Ramaiah
BMJ 1994 308: 487-488. [Extract] [Full Text]

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