Readers have had their say on a new NHS report that has suggested Weston Hospital’s A&E provision could be further downgraded.

Proposals to permanently shut A&E overnight are already being pursued, but a new report has revealed these may well be just the start of reducing emergency care at Weston General Hospital.

Longer-term ideas include scrapping critical care and consultant posts.

North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group – which decides which services are run at the hospital – has stressed nothing has been confirmed or will be imminently implemented.

Public consultation was launched in February over plans to permanently close A&E at night-time – effectively cementing the temporary measure introduced in July 2017.

Many took to social media to share their views.

Sue Roper said: “If we could persuade more of the much needed staff to join the hospital, so that A&E could be maintained, we might have a fighting chance of keeping it going, sadly that isn’t happening.

“We cannot continue the expansion of the town without providing adequate care for the sick. We also need to have proper transport links, again something that is not at the forefront of the housing plans.”

Debbye Evans added: “Not only is Weston’s population set to rapidly increase, we have an increasing elderly population who need and deserve a decent, fully functioning hospital.

“Weston deserves better.”

Chris Tovey commented: “This is what you get from so-called public services. We have no choice as usual decision already made. All the staff who have stayed working there are going to lose their jobs or be redeployed.

“The rest of us are now faced with having to go to Bristol,with no parking, a long journey and endless delays due to traffic jams on the M5.

“They need to understand Weston is not a rest home for OAPs, but a expanding area with massive house building.”

Ian Baker quipped: “Why don’t we just close it down, sell off the ambulance station, the fire station?

Lets just turn the town back into sand dunes and a couple of fishing boats and we can all go and live in Bristol.”