Eighty-nine beds to be axed at Crosshouse Hospital
NHS Ayrshire and Arran confirmed the move as plans to "enhance care and rehab in the community"
A significant number of patient beds are being cut at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran confirmed 89 beds are going, but said it's part of plans to enhance care and rehab services out in the community.
But Rab Wilson, who’s a health campaigner and former nurse with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, told us he thinks there’s more to it: “This health board seems to be desperately struggling here, and is having to resort to some really desperate tactics.”
He’s calling for more information about what exactly is being improved elsewhere in the community: “Where does this exist? What is this enhanced care in the community?
“It just seems to be a phrase they’ve pulled out of thin air, what specifically is going to replace these much needed 89 beds?”
In a statement NHS Ayrshire and Arran says improved care outwith the hospital will mean patients get discharged quicker and they won't need as many beds - around 6-hundred and 50 will remain