Test and learn

Our community hospitals are vital assets for the future delivery of healthcare services for local communities. We think there are exciting opportunities to make greater use of these.

Burnham-on-Sea War Memorial Hospital and Crewkerne Community Hospital

We believe these areas would benefit greatly from an expanded range of diagnostic services and treatments which could impact many more local people, meaning that fewer local residents need to travel to one of our acute hospitals.

We have begun work with our Leagues of Friends, and with colleagues, discussing potentially reducing bedded capacity at those hospitals in order to create more physical space for additional services such as additional outpatients, chemotherapy, cardiology, urology, and community midwifery. We will have the same conversation with local people and representatives.

If any changes are made, they will be on a temporary test and learn basis. No decisions have been made to permanently close community hospital beds.

Frome, Glastonbury and Bridgwater

We are making temporary adjustments to our current provision for patients who receive intermediate care or reablement services in their own homes following an acute hospital stay, or in a community hospital following an acute hospital stay, or need to move to a permanent care placement as their needs have changed.

We think we can improve patients’ access to intermediate care or reablement services, improve outcomes for patients and at the same time improve flow through our acute hospitals. These changes are temporary and reversible if they do not deliver improvements.

As part of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, NHS Somerset and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust are reviewing how community services are delivered across the county. This plan calls for a major shift in the way care is provided – moving more services out of hospitals and into communities, making better use of digital technology, and focusing on prevention and wellbeing.

Our public engagement across Somerset

During September and October 2025, people across Somerset shared their experiences of using NHS services and the challenges they face. This insight will be combined with feedback from NHS Somerset’s Big Conversation 2025, other engagement activity during 2025 that captured local voices, local population health data, and input from hospitals’ Leagues of Friends, staff and councils, to inform future planning for community services.

However, we believe that insight from local people with lived experience is essential to fully understand local needs and to shape services that genuinely meet the needs of the communities they serve.

What people have told us across Somerset

• Local access is valued but difficult – most people want to use services close to home, but often struggle to get the care they need locally.
• Primary care concerns – access to GP appointments and NHS dentistry was a common challenge, with worry about services being reduced or closed.
• Booking systems are challenging – many found online and phone systems confusing or unreliable.
• Transport is often a major barrier – those without cars reported significant difficulties. Public transport was described as limited, infrequent, costly, or simply unavailable when needed.
• Parking problems – lack of parking space at health centres and hospitals was repeatedly raised.