Rumours over new hospital beds debunked

A political group has been accused of giving a ‘misleading impression’ to the public amid claims a hospital could soon receive 40 desperately-needed new beds.

In a scathing letter, an NHS boss condemned a series of social media posts falsely suggesting Royal Oldham Hospital had secured the extra beds – estimated to be worth £15m – with the help of local Oldham Group Councillor Naveed Chowhan. 

Mike Barker, who heads up Oldham’s Integrated Care Partnership for NHS Greater Manchester, wrote: “In recent days, a number of social media posts and community discussions have circulated suggesting that 40 new beds have been secured at the Royal Oldham Hospital. To clarify, this is not the case. 

“Cllr Chowhan has not secured 40 new beds, and I am keen to ensure that residents are not unintentionally misinformed about developments within the hospital.”

In the letter, addressed to Labour’s council leader Arooj Shah, he added: “It is concerning that some local commentary may have given a misleading impression about ongoing work within the NHS.” 

The allegation originated from a Facebook post by a resident, who claimed the CEO of the hospital had ‘vowed to add 40 extra beds to help ease the pressure’ on the overrun A&E department.

The post thanks Cllr Chowhan for ‘stepping up, getting involved, and sending those crucial emails to the people in charge’. 

This announcement was then shared by the representative for the Waterhead ward and by the Oldham Group, who reposted it with the words ‘Fantastic work Cllr Naveed Chowhan’.

Both the group and the councillor have denied they ever claimed Cllr Chowhan had directly secured 40 new beds. 
The rumour has sparked an online spat between political groups in Oldham.

Labour councillor and the council’s cabinet member for health, Barbara Brownridge, accused the Oldham Group of spreading ‘fake news’ and ‘chasing headlines’. 

The Oldham Group then hit back, claiming Labour were ‘taking things out of context for political point-scoring’. 

While councillors take aim at each other online, Royal Oldham Hospital continues to struggle with inadequate capacity.

The centre was recently slammed by health watchdogs due to its levels of ‘corridor care’, when patients have to be treated in corridors for hours or even days due to a lack of free beds on wards. 

Northern Care Alliance, the trust that runs the hospital, initially said they ‘do not comment on rumour and conjecture’ but later noted that while beds haven’t been secured, there is currently work ongoing to address the hospital’s capacity problems. 

Jude Adams, a chief operating officer at the trust, said: “We are working closely with Oldham’s Integrated Care Partnership and Greater Manchester’s Integrated Care Board to understand how many hospital beds are required to meet the needs of patients across our communities.  

“This includes looking at future demand and making sure we have the right capacity in place. We’re also working with NHS England and our commissioners to secure investment for The Royal Oldham Hospital including schemes such as the Urgent Treatment Centre.” 

Responding to the accusations of ‘fake news’, a spokesperson for the Oldham Group stated: “Let’s be absolutely clear: Cllr Naveed Chowhan did not claim to have ‘secured’ £15 million or personally delivered 40 new beds. What he shared was information directly from the Chief Executive of the Northern Care Alliance, confirming that plans are being developed to increase capacity at the Royal Oldham Hospital. 

“This was an update about progress and transparency, not politics. The Oldham Group believes in working with local NHS leaders, not taking credit for their efforts – and certainly not misleading residents with political point-scoring.” 

Cllr Chowhan did not wish to respond directly. 

The resident who shared the original post clarified he only posted what he believed he had been told by the Royal Oldham Hospital CEO, and that it was intended as ‘a general thank you, not a political thing’.