Response from FOI Officer, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, received on 1st September 2025.  As shown below, members of KONPNE outlined our concerns and then asked three key questions. Our text is highlighted in red on this page, and the response from Gateshead Health Trust is underneath each question in black.

 

Our reference: FoI 2025-26.375
Thank you for your request for information of 16/08/2025, as copied below. Your request has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 
Your request and our response: 
FOI Request to CEO Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Dear Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust Freedom of Information Team,
Keep Our NHS Public North East is a group of North East people who care for the future of our NHS. We strongly believe that the NHS should remain a fully funded public service, and not become privatised, and we campaign to uphold these values, both locally and nationally.
We comprise, mostly, members of the general public, together with some doctors, nurses and other health professionals who believe in the NHS.
KONPNE were shocked to learn that Ward 23 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital will close as “part of cost cutting measures”. Whilst recognising that the NHS is in challenging times due to the level of government funding this is a direct cut to frontline services and therefore must be challenged.
Ward 23 was set up as an innovative 24-bed approach to caring for elderly people who experience both physical and mental health issues. We see from your board papers in July 25 that the justification for this massive cut to services for one of the most vulnerable groups in society, is the move from hospital to community-based care signalled in the NHS 10 year plan.  We know that this client group requires integrated mental and physical  health care and intensive 24 hr support. There will undoubtedly be knock-on effect on other inpatient wards at QE and, additionally, we all know that existing community-based health interventions are at breaking point. This move will place increased pressures on existing community services and hard-working community staff.
Please provide under Freedom Of Information legislation;
  1. Details of the ‘consultation process’ on the closure of Ward 23.
The consultation was an internal process, led by clinical teams, and ran from 6 June 2025 to 7 July 2025. It involved staff from Ward 23 and other relevant colleagues across the Trust. We also held discussions with system partners and a variety of community and voluntary groups.
It is important to note that the focus of this consultation was the internal management of existing service delivery. The proposal examined how existing NHS services are configured and delivered within the Trust, rather than focusing on the introduction or withdrawal of NHS services for the public. NHS guidance makes clear that a service change requiring public consultation applies where there is a substantial variation in how services are accessed by patients. In this case, the change is an internal reconfiguration designed to improve efficiency and patient outcomes. Patients who need inpatient admission will still be admitted to one of our other Care of the Elderly wards, therefore, it was not subject to external consultation.
We have listened to feedback and as a result of the consultation, staff, patients and partners raised concerns about dementia care, infection control and overall bed capacity. These have been taken seriously and addressed through targeted actions.
These actions include: 
  • Expanding the Acute Frailty service to a seven-day model and growing the Frailty Virtual Ward
  • Strengthening discharge processes to help people return home sooner when safe
  • Increasing dementia training for ward staff and temporarily increasing Admiral Nurse capacity
  • Reviewing ward environments to be more dementia friendly
  • Continuing enhanced observation for patients at higher risk of falls where clinically appropriate
  1. Details of associated consultations with existing community and primary care providers.
This was an internal consultation. Because the proposal focused on how existing services are configured and delivered, it was not subject to a formal external consultation process.
However, Ward 23 forms part of our wider Securing our Sustainable Future programme. As part of this programme, we have begun a series of meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Integrated Care Board, the Local Authority, and community and voluntary sector representatives. Further meetings are already scheduled for September. These meetings are designed to share our proposals to improve patient outcomes and support staff to work in ways that make the best use of their skills, while also being transparent about the serious financial challenges we face.
This work reflects the NHS 10-Year Plan’s three shifts: from an analogue system to a digital one, from care in hospitals to care in the community, and from a system that treats sickness to one that prevents ill health.
  1. A copy of the risk,equality and quality impact assessments carried out as part of the consultation process.
A full Equality and Quality Impact Assessment (EQIA) was completed, reviewed and approved by the Medical Director and the Chief Nurse as part of the consultation process. Please find this enclosed.
 We hope that you will find this response helpful.