PLANS for a new 66‑bed care home in a village could be “detrimental” to health care services that are already running at capacity, NHS bosses have warned.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are asking for a contribution of £37,414 if plans for a new 66‑bed care home in Drakes Broughton go ahead.
Developer Terra has submitted the plans for the home on greenfield land off Mill Lane to after suggesting there is a shortage of specialist older people’s housing across Wychavon and south Worcestershire.
We have sent multiple requests to Terra for a comment but it has not responded to our requests.
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The trust shared that it frequently operates with more than 100% of its beds at full capacity because A&E admissions exceed patient discharges.
Safe hospital care is often categorised by sites operating at less than 92% full bed capacity.
A spokesperson for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The Trust’s current capacity is already maximised and will not be able to absorb the increased demand for health care caused by the residents of the Proposed Development.
“The Trust considers this to be a conservative request which is directly related to the development, necessary to ensure the delivery of the required healthcare infrastructure so that it meets additional demand associated with the proposed development caused by the population new to Worcestershire.”
It was calculated that the proposed development would generate at least six new emergency attendances and four emergency admissions.
But also suggested a significant impact on other services such as GPs, maternity care, outpatient services, and elective admissions.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust calculated that at least £37,414 should be contributed to the trust to help it deal with additional users of its services.
What is being proposed by developers?
Outline planning permission for the 66-bed car home includes a new vehicular access from Mill Lane and will cover 0.51 hectares.
Around 40% of the site will be reserved for green infrastructure like a patio area and a courtyard garden.
The exact design of the site has not yet been revealed.
Residents in Drakes Broughton have also shared concerns on the planning application over infrastructure and flooding.
The plans can be accessed via Wychavon District Council’s planning portal by using the application number W/25/02536/OUT.
The consultation period for the plans ends on April 18.