In January 2018, the decision was taken to provide a brand new community hospital for the Forest of Dean, and later that year a Citizen’s Jury made up of residents from across the Forest of Dean recommended Cinderford as the location. These steps were themselves part of a longer process of engagement and consultation about our new hospital.
Our local NHS are now in the final stages of the process where, again, your views are really important. They need to decide on the size and detailed scope of the new hospital, ensuring that it will be able to offer high quality care for you and future generations. Your feedback to this consultation will inform the next stage of their decision making.
It is clear that health care will continue to change, as new technology and roles are developed, and the new hospital needs to be designed so that it can respond to these changes. Our local NHS’s experiences during the current pandemic have again demonstrated the pressing need to move ahead with the provision of a new, modern hospital in the Forest of Dean.
The proposal is for a hospital which includes a state of the art inpatient unit, urgent care facility, x-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy, and a range of consultation and treatment rooms for outpatient appointments. Experiences of providing care throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will also influence the final design, to minimise the risk of infections spreading and to allow for social distancing between staff and patients.
The public consultation will run for eight weeks from today until Thursday 17 December. The consultation materials and survey will be available online at www.fodhealth.nhs.uk from today.
Written booklets can be requested by emailing glccg.participation@nhs.net; writing to FREEPOST RRYY-KSGT-AGBR, Fit for the Future: FOD Hospital, Sanger House, Valiant Court, Gloucester Business Park, Gloucester, GL3 4FE or by leaving a message on the Freephone number 0800 0151 548