THE time stroke patients are spending in hospital has dropped as the result of a controversial decision to move Bromsgrove's specialist rehab beds to Evesham, hospital bosses claim.

The Advertiser announced in February that Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust would be consolidating the county's specialist stroke beds at a new ward at Evesham Community Hospital.

This involved moving eight beds from the Princess of Wales Community Hospital and eight from Worcester, due to a lack of consultant cover.

The announcement caused concern for Bromsgrove's stroke patients and their families, who now face an arduous 25-mile journey for rehabilitation.

But, at a public board meeting of the Trust on May 10, hospital bosses said they were "doing it right", and that patients' length of stay in hospital had actually dropped now that stroke specialists are on hand in the same place.

Medical director Andy Sant said: "Now the team is all on one site, we can focus on improving things like speech and language as soon as the patient needs it, rather than having to wait for a specialist to be available.

"Now, with patients coming from Bromsgrove, we're looking more at earlier discharges, as these are the people that will benefit mostly from going home. There’s a mindset that hospital beds make people better but people make people better.

"The address of the patient can also influence visiting times so we've been flexible with this on an individual level."

Non-executive director Jill Gramann shared her firsthand account of the service at Evesham's new stroke ward.

She said: "I took a friend to visit their friend there and we were greeted straight away, asked who we were here to see and taken through. It feels to be going really well which is really touching.

"The compassion and care is really touching and most importantly this friend has made real progress, so I feel quite proud to have been part of that."

Bromsgrove's Stroke Association is offering care and support to patients and families affected by the move, with issues such as transport to and from hospital.