Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust about the reinstatement of a consultant-led all-hours A&E service at Cheltenham General Hospital.

There are no plans to close Cheltenham General Hospital’s (CGH) accident and emergency (A&E) service and NHS England and NHS Improvement are clear that any potential solution developed as part of One Gloucestershire’s Fit for the Future public engagement programme will not include any such plans.

There have been no formal proposals developed which include removing the consultant-led A&E service at Cheltenham.

Discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following these discussions, the Secretary of State confirmed on 23 October 2019 that no proposals to close Cheltenham A&E would be included in the forthcoming consultation.

CGH’s A&E department is consultant-led from 8am-8pm and overnight (8pm – 8am) the service is led by specialist emergency nurse practitioners. This arrangement, which has been in place since 2013, was in response to a lack of middle grade doctors and has preserved and ensured the continuation of high-quality care for patients in Gloucestershire 24 hours a day, seven days a week.