HEALTH bosses are facing fresh calls to reinstate beds at Portland Hospital amid growing anger over 'bed blocking.'

In a controversial move all beds were axed from Portland Hospital in 2018. 

Meanwhile, recent NHS data reveals that almost a quarter of beds at Dorset County Hospital are being taken up by patients fit to be discharged.

Portland Carers Support Group says it is 'perverse' to leave Portland wards empty as they were previously used for patients' rehabilitation, which could reduce pressure on Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.

Remaining services at Portland Hospital include outpatient physiotherapy clinics, and two walk-in Covid-19 vaccination clinics were recently held at the site.

Co-founder of Portland Carers Support Group, Jo Dolbear, said she is "furious" that hospital bosses continue to dismiss calls for Portland beds to be reinstated.

She said one recent case saw a patient kept at DCH for six months - while those who are discharged to their homes now face poorer health outcomes. 

"(A man known to me) was one of them - he was sent home with a urinary tract infection; had three falls in two days, and later suffered a stroke and was rehospitalised," she said.

"You cannot rehabilitate someone by leaving them in a chair for months, catheterised for convenience and expect their legs to work regardless of what age they are."

Dorset HealthCare University Trust, which runs Portland Hospital, said there are no plans to reinstate beds, and that most of the patients were not from the island - although no figures were given. The Trust also said staffing issues were a factor but declined to comment on what recruitment efforts were carried out. 

Meanwhile, unpaid carers who live on Portland must now make a round trip of around 30 miles to DCH to visit loved ones. 

"This is why local community beds are so important," Mrs Dolbear added.

"I spent hours at Portland Hospital years ago when my late husband was in there, helping him to eat and drink so he got stronger and was able to come home. It was a godsend."

A spokesman from Dorset HealthCare said: “The beds were removed from Castletown Ward at Portland Hospital in line with recommendations from Dorset’s NHS Clinical Services Review in 2017, which said that – as with Wareham Hospital – Portland should be a community hub without beds.

"Most of the people using the beds there were not from Portland, so it made sense to transfer the beds to Westhaven Hospital in Weymouth. We had also been facing huge problems securing staff to safely operate the ward for a number of years. We have no plans to reinstate the beds at Portland Hospital.”

It follows a recent announcement that there are no current plans to reinstate the minor injuries unit at Portland Hospital, which temporarily closed during lockdown.

Portland Carers Support Group fears the hospital is being gradually 'wound down' and has invited healthcare bosses to a meeting, which is to be held in January.