The persistence of HRG Councillors pays off!
The Townlands Steering Group was established in 2003 to prevent the threatened closure of hospital services, and secure the long term provision and extension of these services on the Townlands site by the redevelopment of the health and support facilities.
HRG Councillor, and former mayor, Ian Reissmann has chaired the steering group since 2004. He now has some very good news!
Henley to get more local services!
The redeveloped Townlands Hospital (now renamed Townlands Memorial Hospital) re-opened in 2015, and today Royal Berks Hospital has announced that finally the top floor is to open.
Since the new hospital opened in 2015, services have increased very significantly compared to the old hospital including those provided by Royal Berks. There are currently 8 consulting rooms in use providing 20,000 appointments a year by Royal Berks at Townlands. This compares to 8,000 appointments and 4 consulting rooms previously (one of which was an old store cupboard). The new arrangements on the top floor will significantly increase this and provide much improved clinical areas to deliver the services.
The Townlands Steering Group has met many times over the years with senior Royal Berks managers to discuss increasing the services delivered at Townlands. The decision to move the services is due to the lack of space at their Reading site and the need to redevelop some very old existing facilities there.
The decision has been accelerated due to the difficulty in delivering services during the COVID crisis. As a result, the move is currently temporary and a 12-month lease has been agreed with NHS Property Services. However, Royal Berks are clear that they have ambitions to increase the services they provide at Townlands further over that period and in the long term. This is good news as it means that the excellent facilities at Townlands can be fully used, increasing the range of services provided locally which are needed by patients.
“We are delighted at the continued expansion of services at Townlands Memorial Hospital”, said TSG chair Cllr Ian Reissmann. “We look forward to continuing to work with Royal Berks and other stakeholders to deliver locally as full a range of services as needed by people in the area served by Townlands.”
Cllr Ian Reissmann