THE Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s chief executive has set out to clarify how many beds will be lost in its proposed redevelopment.

Tony Bell says there has been confusion and misunderstanding regarding the reduction of bed numbers in its £477m plans for the new building, due to be completed by 2015.

Between Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust’s two sites, there are currently 998 beds, and this will fall to 918 by 2014-15.

The number of beds has been falling since 2004-05, when the number was 1,122 and the Trust says this is because healthcare is changing.

As bed numbers have fallen, so has length of patient stay – from an average 9.6 days for emergency admissions in 2003 to 7.2 days in 2007.

Planned hospital stays have fallen from an average 5.7 days to 4.8 days during the same time period. Mr Bell said: “There has been confusion and hopefully this will be all ironed out during the current public consultation.

“The Trust models the number of beds which it believes it will need, based on discussions with clinicians about how care will be provided.

“But figures presented to the May, 2007, Trust Board meeting have been misinterpreted to suggest a larger reduction – it will only be 80.

“We are not denying there will be this reduction, but there will not be a reduction in care.

“Terminology we use to define different types of beds may change and this may increase the risk of misinterpretation, but the bottom line will not change, we want to assure people about this.”

However, some health care professionals still remain sceptical about the reductions, and worry health care within the community is not yet sufficient to justify them.

Chair of the now defunct Patient and Public Involvement Forum (PPI) for the Royal, Maggie Andrews, said: “Exactly what is meant by health care in the community and to what extent is that expected to rise?

“Generally it is difficult to get care at home and even when it is provided there is a means tested charge for care assistants.”

Others are concerned about the use of a Private Finance Initiative to fund the scheme.

The development has been through outline planning stages with Liverpool City Council, and will now undergo a public consultation process led by Liverpool Primary Care Trust for 14 weeks, which started on July 14.

The next consultation meeting will be held on September 3 at 6.30pm, at Bridge Chapel Centre, Heath Road, Garston.

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