Two inpatient wards at Haslemere Hospital may remain permanently closed – but health leaders insist the hospital itself is not at risk.

Fears surrounding Haslemere Hospital have rippled through the community since the hospital’s 16 inpatient beds, used for step-down rehabilitation care, were “paused” earlier this year. The closure followed Haslemere Health Centre’s notice that it could no longer provide medical cover. While the hospital’s main contract is held by the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, day-to-day medical provision for the wards had been subcontracted to GPs.

Royal Surrey’s medical director, Dr Bill Jewsbury, said that without replacement cover, there was no choice but to close the beds temporarily.

“It’s not a money-saving exercise,” he said. “We’re operating in a restrained financial envelope, and while the hospital does have a future, we are reviewing what services it should offer — and how.”

While the Trust insists it remains committed to Haslemere Hospital – including investing over £1 million to upgrade the Minor Injuries Unit into an Urgent Treatment Centre – Dr Jewsbury confirmed the beds may not reopen.

“If medical cover can be found, that’s an option. But we’re also consulting with the public on whether those funds would be better invested elsewhere in the hospital.”

The 16 beds cost around £1.4 million annually to run and cater to an average of 39 inpatients per month. In contrast, outpatient services remain extremely busy: between April 2024 and April 2025, the hospital saw an average of 662 consultant-led appointments and 1,931 x-rays and ultrasounds per month. Nearly 6,000 patients used the Minor Injuries Unit between May and July alone.

Community campaigner Alex Page, who has been lobbying the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Short-term decisions must not compromise long-term benefits. While we recognise that Haslemere can’t provide every service, the community must have the agency and information to make informed choices.”

Page added that 48,000 patients are registered with GPs across Haslemere and the surrounding area – a 28 per cent increase in the past decade. “If people are stuck at the Royal Surrey because they can’t be discharged, that backs up the entire system — ambulances, admissions, everything.”

Chair of the League of Friends, Rose Parry, echoed these concerns. “Patients who end up in acute beds at the Royal Surrey don’t understand why they can’t return to Haslemere – and they’re not being told,” she said. “People are already travelling long distances for appointments. We must protect what services we still have.”

The League, which supports the hospital, has joined the review process and is pushing for robust public consultation. “Haslemere ticks most of the boxes to become a neighbourhood health hub under NHS England’s ten-year plan,” said Parry. “But that can’t happen if we lose vital services by stealth.”

Though the beds remain closed for now, NHS leaders insist nothing is off the table — including reopening them — and say the public will have a voice in the outcome.