MP unimpressed by campaign for more hospice-type beds

JOHN HOWELL has refused to retake his seat on a group which is backing calls for more hospice beds in South Oxfordshire.

The Henley MP believes the Townlands Steering Group, which has been revived as an advisory committee on health issues to the town council, is acting outside its remit in supporting the campaign for Sue Ryder to create or fund a new inpatient facility in the area.

The group was formed in 2003 to fight the proposed closure of Townlands Hospital in Henley and later expanded its scope to push for a £16million redevelopment, which was completed in 2016.

Mr Howell claims it has served its purpose because the “health campus” off York Road, now called Townlands Memorial Hospital, is working well.

He says most of the group’s members aren’t medically qualified so have no grounds to question Sue Ryder’s argument that demand for hospice places has fallen and is unlikely to increase again.

Mr Howell said: “I don’t think there’s a need for a steering group relating to Townlands Hospital. That project has been completed and appears to be getting pretty good feedback. Secondly, I have no desire to belong to a group which simply careers its way around picking various medical issues to have a go at.

“It’s inappropriate for them to tackle the Sue Ryder issue. Most of its members aren’t medically qualified but seem incapable of accepting figures which have been put forward by an organisation which is qualified.

“I don’t wish to be drawn into any arguments about Sue Ryder’s motivations, which some have questioned. The charity has been very open in setting out its case and we should go forward on that basis.”

Mr Howell said he would focus his efforts on proposals by the Oxfordshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group for two beds at Wallingford Community Hospital.

He said: “I’m very happy to work with the CCG because they are medically qualified and responsible for provision so I’m pleased they have put this forward.”

But town councillor Ian Reissmann, who chairs the steering group, said it had always lobbied on health matters affecting the 50,000 or so patients in the hospital’s catchment area.

He said hospice beds mattered because any shortage would put pressure on NHS services.

Councillor Reissmann said: “Our terms of reference were always clear so I’m not sure whether Mr Howell has read them.

“Townlands now has a care centre on site so it’s hardly just a hospital any more. The redevelopment may have finished but that doesn’t reflect the ever-changing nature of health care. Services never exist in a vacuum and problems in one area significantly affect others.

“Additionally, there will always be other issues besides hospice beds. Let’s not forget that the top floor of Townlands was only occupied last year following a long period of lying vacant.

“As for medical qualifications, we’re a community group which gathers people’s views and represents them to authorities like the commissioning or Sue Ryder. Many of the managers we speak to aren’t clinical staff but they understand what’s being discussed.”

Fellow campaigner Tony Hardy, who volunteered at Joyce Grove after his son David, of Hare Hatch, died there in 2018, said campaigners didn’t need medical knowledge to fight hospice closures.

He said: “Many people who support this campaign were helped enormously by the Joyce Grove hospice after suffering the loss of a loved one. We’ve got real life experience, which counts more than clinical expertise in this instance.

“If Mr Howell wants to leave the steering group it’s his prerogative but that doesn’t change the fact that many people still want to experience inpatient hospice care locally at their time of greatest need.

“You can’t truly know what that’s like until you’ve been in that situation. Medical care is part of the picture but the support given to families who are under enormous pressure is equally important.

“NHS services simply don’t have the time to show the same degree of care and attention. The Nettlebed hospice offered a first-class service with exemplary kindness and compassion from beginning to end.

“Its nurses weren’t just there to administer medication but to look at the whole person and do whatever’s needed to alleviate suffering and distress.”