THE people of Chard and the surrounding area are to benefit from a £4.2million refurbishment of their community hospital.

At a meeting of the Board of Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust yesterday (Tuesday), members gave their approval for a major refurbishment and reconfiguration of the existing hospital in Crewkerne Road, Chard, planned to take place over the next two to three years.

Built in 1929, the original two-storey section of the hospital has had a series of single-storey prefabricated extensions and small annexes added over the years.

In addition to the hospital’s 20 in-patient beds, it has out-patient and musculoskeletal clinics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services, a Minor Injury Unit (MIU), and diagnostic x-ray and ultrasound facilities.

Following the buying of community health services provided by Somerset PCT in August, 2011, the Partnership Trust carried out a survey and evaluation of the repair of the buildings and concluded that they were not of sufficiently high quality to deliver the requirements of a modern health care facility.

The Trust officially took over Chard Com-munity Hospital on April 1.

The chief executive of the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Edward Colgan, said it was important that investment was made at Chard because of its unsatisfactory layout.

“When the Partnership Trust undertook its own evaluation of the hospital it was apparent that the age of the building and its poor internal layout meant we needed to take steps to improve its facilities,’’ he said.