Patients moved from hospital amid fire safety issues

Patients have been moved from a hospital after fire safety issues were identified, the NHS has said.

Cornwall's Bodmin Community Hospital's stroke beds were relocated to Liskeard Community Hospital, and one of its acute mental health wards has also been moved. Some patients may now be treated outside Cornwall.

The Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said admissions to its psychiatric intensive care unit had been paused "regrettably".

The board said the measures were temporary to allow works to be "undertaken as safely as possible".

An independent fire safety review for the hospital identified issues which meant planned works needed to be brought forward.

The trust's chief medical officer Dr Adrian Flynn said work was already underway.

He said: "We have taken immediate action to ensure the safety of patients and staff and we are doing all we can to minimise disruption while the issues are fixed.

"Unfortunately, owing to the scale of the works, we have had to relocate some services - as a result, some patients have been moved and are receiving their care elsewhere.

"This is not the experience we want for our patients."

The hospital, which is owned by G H Bodmin Limited and managed by Grosvenor Facilities Management, provides NHS community and mental health services.

NHS bosses said they are working with partners to mitigate disruption and to "minimise the impact on patients and their families".

North Cornwall politician Ben Maguire said he had been assured by the trust that disruption would be kept "to an absolute minimum" and that "no NHS money" would be used towards repairs.

"I absolutely appreciate that people being treated further away from home than usual or outside of Cornwall is far from ideal," he said.

Mr Maguire said he would make sure residents continued to "receive the treatment and services they need whilst the maintenance works to fix the problems are carried out".

A spokesperson from the Integrated Care Board said the continuity for patients and staff was a priority, and health leaders were working to "mitigate the loss of community beds and minimise the number of people treated out of area".

Follow BBC Cornwall on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].