AN annexe of Hereford County Hospital is going to close in February with the intention to care for more patients at home.

Herefordshire's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) announced it is going to remove the 22 beds from Hillside Rehabilitation Centre in Pentwyn Avenue in the south of Hereford.

The move will save £500,000 in 2018/19 but money will be re-invested in healthcare provision in the community so patients can be better cared for at home when they leave hospital.

Hazel Braund, director of operations, highlighted the delayed transfers of care figures which show 40 per cent of patients in hospital beds could be better supported in a different setting.

She said: "Once they are in our care we are not good at getting them home. Some of that is to do with our resources, both our financial resources but also our skilled clinicians - therapists and doctors - are invested in our bedded capacity.

"We don't invest enough into the services that re-enable people - that is the very practical approach to home care."

The Hillside unit is a reablement unit, which was built in 2003, where staff work with patients to help recovery. The building is owned by Herefordshire Council.

It is envisaged that staff will be redeployed into the acute and community wards, or community settings.

A public meeting was held on Tuesday night, following a public engagement process, but no members of the public attended.

At the meeting, Graham Hotchen, lay member for audit and governance, asked what would happen if a patient was not ready to go home and needed further care.

Ms Braund said: "This is not about removing all bedded capacity. This is about having a better balance in our system. At the moment we aren't often able to give a choice to people with higher level of needs. The only choice is to go into a bedded facility."

She said there is a significant level of beds across the county which they expect to retain.

In the current financial year £200,000 will be invested in the Primary Care Home programme. which will buy more GP hours and allow them to take a stronger leadership role, and £200,000 is earmarked for next year.

And £200,000 is being invested in community health services in 2017/18 rising to £400,000 in 2018/19, to pay for more district nurses and more therapists, particularly occupational therapists and physiotherapists. The CCG admitted they have issues recruiting district nurses but said they do not have difficulty recruiting therapists.

There will be an investment of £160,000 in Herefordshire Council's Homefirst rapid response, which provides short term urgent domestic care support for vulnerable individuals, rising to £285,000 in 2018/19.

A further £270,000 is available in 2017/18 for investment in increased capacity in the Herefordshire system focused on supporting social care provision, which will increase to £970,000 in 2018/19.

The community capacity will be in place before Christmas and the beds will be removed from Hillside in February. The council has not said what its plans are for the building.

There will be developments for each locality in Herefordshire and the focus is next on Leominster and Kington. But the CCG said it is a co-production exercise and they will continue to engage with the public.