Two of Somerset's community hospitals could temporarily lose half their inpatient beds as NHS bosses seek to offer a wider range of local services.
The government's ten-year plan for the NHS includes a drive to deliver more health services at a community level, reducing the number of patients coming into acute hospitals for treatments which could be provided closer to home.
The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB) implemented a 'test and learn' exercise at its Bridgwater, Frome and Glastonbury sites in July 2025, removing inpatient beds in order to offer a wider range of services and speed up hospital discharges.
Health bosses will be extending this trial period for up to a year - and have confirmed similar changes will be implemented in Burnham-on-Sea and Crewkerne in the coming weeks.
During the initial 12-week trial, Bridgwater hospital saw its inpatient beds reduced from 30 to 24, with Frome dropping from 24 to 16 and West Mendip hospital in Glastonbury being reduced from 30 to 16.
Instead of using inpatient beds to discharge people from Yeovil Hospital or Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, the NHS and Somerset Council "spot purchased" beds in Somerset care homes.
This has allowed more people who needed long-term 24-hour care to be discharged from hospital to a long-term residential placement, rather than having to be disruptively moved from acute hospital to a community hospital and then a nursing home.
These changes led to a drop in waiting times for both discharges from acute hospitals and for home-based care - with no significant rise in the number of people being readmitted to hospital after being sent home.
Initial surveys indicated that 100 per cent of respondents felt the changes "helped them to feel more confident at home" and 96 per cent had "achieved their re-ablement goals" as a result.
The latest proposals will see both Burnham-on-Sea and Crewkerne hospitals have their inpatient beds reduced from 16 to eight on a trial basis.
The vacated space will be used to deliver a wider range of NHS services in both locations - potentially including chemotherapy, diagnostics and ambulatory care.
NHS Somerset will also work with Symphony Healthcare Services, which runs the GP surgery opposite Burnham-on-Sea hospital, about how service provision at the minor injuries unit (MIU) can be stabilised and enhanced.
Councillor Gill Slocombe (Conservative, Bridgwater West) said that there would be less public consternation about the loss of local beds if more information was made available about offering more services closer to home. She said:
"Don't say 'reducing' beds' - 'redesigning services' is perfect. As soon as you mention reducing, people start panicking about there being no beds.
"In Bridgwater, we've been able to bring diagnostics into the town - it's so important that you don't have half of Somerset dashing to Yeovil or Musgrove for tests.
"I live in an area with a large number of elderly people, and it’s very important that we do take on board what people are saying."
Councillor Lucy Trimnell (Conservative, Wincanton and Bruton) said:
"I have a friend who's having dialysis and has been having to travel up to Bristol every day to a hospital there to receive it.
"They could be going to one of these more local hospital, where the parking is easier."
Councillor Martin Wale (Conservative, Chard North) said implementing similar changes at Chard Community Hospital had made a huge difference to local people's lives. He said:
"Many years ago we had two wards, and frankly all we did I suspect was move the bed-blocking from Musgrove to Chard - people were in there for weeks and weeks and weeks.
"Anything which can stop that happening at these other hospitals is welcome.
"Chard is now providing any number of services, such as blood tests, maternity services and the urgent treatment centre, which is always busy.
"It's morphed from being this rather ancient establishment to a very modern facility for all age groups. I think it’s tremendous."
The proposed changes at Burnham-on-Sea and Crewkerne will be implemented across the two sites from early-April.
The scrutiny committee will receive a further update on changes to local NHS services later in the year.
