SOMERSET'S NHS bosses this week hit back at claims by Bridgwater trade unionists that the town's new hospital will be "second rate" - and insist the facility will have more beds, more staff, and more services.

The town's TUC secretary Dave Chapple last week wrote to Somerset's press with a list of questions about Bridgwater's proposed £29million hospital.

They included queries about the "failings" of the current Salmon Parade hospital, alleged cuts to bed numbers and "fears" that the facility will be staffed only by GPs.

Mr Chapple also claimed that "far too little" public consultation had been carried out ahead of next year's build - and, during a radio interview, even described the planned development as "second rate" and "a mainly geriatric hospital".

But this week, Somerset Coast Primary Care Trust's finance director, David Slack, moved to counteract the TUC's claims.

In a letter to Mr Chapple that was copied to the Mercury, Mr Slack insisted the current hospital is being replaced because it is "outdated" only in terms of its physical condition and resources, and staff already provide a "high standard" of care.

He said: "Plans for the new hospital include a dedicated day surgery facility - this does not presently exist at Bridgwater Hospital.

"It will also provide facilities for an ambulance station. The current staffing levels are expected to increase.

"Other services provided would mirror those already being delivered by Bridgwater Community Hospital, but with the added advantage of being housed in a purpose-built building, designed to modern standards and offering local NHS patients, relatives and staff a better quality environment from which to receive and deliver care."

And he was backed by the PCT's communications manager Paul Courtney, who suggested the TUC's attack had come from a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the new hospital's purpose.

Mr Courtney added: "The TUC seem to have an expectation that a small community hospital should have the same resources as a large district hospital like Musgrove Park in Taunton.

"There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the role and purpose of community and district hospitals."