The petition by Jean Lelliott, which has been signed by more than 1,400 Islanders since it was launched at the end of August, called for the new hospital to have the same equipment and specialist staff that used to be based at the ‘world-class’ facility at Overdale.
The ward had 28 beds for people needing physical rehabilitation, but last year the Health Department closed the ward and opened 12 beds in Plémont Ward at the Hospital with shorter stays provided.
A response to the petition was only released by ministers 94 days after it garnered the 1,000 signatures required, following a query by the JEP as to why it had been left so long without a response.
In a statement, the government said: ‘Rehabilitation services have not been reduced but are being delivered in different settings and in a number of different ways in line with National Clinical Guidelines for rehabilitation.’
However, St John Constable Andy Jehan has raised concerns over the state of rehabilitation services in the Island and said: ‘It is not good enough.’
Mr Jehan said he had personal experience of the changes to rehabilitation services, witnessing in recent months first-hand the problems people faced. And he had been contacted by numerous Islanders, including healthcare professionals, former patients and family members of patients.
He said that one healthcare professional had told him that a rehabilitation centre was ‘vital’, and labelled the current situation a ‘disgrace’.
Mr Jehan added that there were patients going for days without physiotherapy treatment and he was aware of patients in care homes who had been told that they would not see an occupational therapist for three months, which he labelled ‘terrible’.
The Constable said his comments were not aimed at Islanders on the front line, ‘who are working incredibly hard every day in very difficult circumstances’.
It s understood that moving the rehabilitation services to the General Hospital would result in there being around 28 fewer beds for other types of pstients, which one medic said could cause problems if services were out under pressure.
The government said: ‘Samarès Ward was close to many people’s hearts in the care and treatment that was provided.
‘HCS recognises that this has made some people anxious about the changes that are currently occurring. It acknowledges that Samarès Ward was a spacious, calm, healing environment where patients each had their own room. However, HCS is committed to improving Plémont Ward’s environment to ensure a better experience for patients.’
Mrs Lelliott’s petition said that the space for patients had been reduced by more than half, and that this was not in line with National Clinical Guidelines for stroke rehabilitation.
She said: ‘It is clear that 12 beds are obviously not enough, and we desperately need a fully functioning rehabilitation unit, as we had before in Samarès Ward, in our new hospital. Samarès was world class.’
In its response, the government said that the number of beds required for acute inpatient rehabilitation would be accommodated in the proposed new hospital at Overdale.
