WHILE the report (February 10) about the day hospital was accurate, I believe that the headline may have inadvertently given a false impression.

Pennine Acute Trust is currently reviewing services at the day hospital, which provides patients with a mix of medical and social care from the Fairfield General Hospital site.

One headline said that there was a "threat to medical and social care". This is not the case. There is absolutely no proposal to end any care for the patients, whether medical or social. Patients using the unit were told personally by staff about this and were also given letters inviting questions; they were not informed "by post" as indicated in the latest Bury Times story.

The question is not "Should these patients be receiving their respective medical and social care?" Clearly they should. That is why it is being provided, and this will continue. The question is whether a hospital setting is the right place to provide social care, given the pressures and expectations on all NHS hospitals and the increasing drive to move care, where appropriate, to community-based settings, freeing-up hospital facilities for other patients.

This is a complex matter and, as was correctly reported, we are fully aware of the importance of both medical and social care to the patients. This is why we have begun assessing the medical and social care needs of individual patients, and why we will be talking to their carers, families and members of staff, to give a broader picture of their requirements.

Your reporter quoted a source as saying that the day hospital "is a warm, comfortable, social environment where the elderly can play games, listen to music and have meals while waiting for treatment". I agree 100 per cent with that statement. No-one is disputing how well the staff are caring for the patients, or how valuable patients find the service.

I know that many of the patients and the staff involved would prefer us to leave everything alone. That would certainly be the easiest option for the Trust, but would it be the right decision? As a Trust, we have to think not only of the patients we have, but of the patients we could help using our facilities, and of our responsibilities to ensure that we can justify the use of our resources to help the wide variety of patients who need our help. That is why we have to review this situation.

We are at an early stage in this process, which will involve liaison and discussion with both Bury's Primary Care Trust and Bury's social services department. We have also written to a number of organisations in the area, asking them for their views. We would welcome views from anyone else with an interest.

There are complex health needs in Bury, which is why we need to make sure that we have the right services, in the right place, to help as many people as we can.

That is the challenge we have to address, and it will not be an easy task. To create substantial services, which will serve all the people of Bury into the future, is a challenge we will have to meet.

STEPHEN FAREY,

divisional director of medicine.