PATIENTS, hospital leaders and local businesses have joined forces with local MP Anna Sabine urging for WECA to restore a bus service to Sulis Hospital.

The group say the lack of a bus service is making it harder for patients to attend NHS appointments, adds pressure on an already stretched car park and is creating difficulties for businesses in the area trying to recruit and grow.

Located at Bath Business Park in Peasedown St John, Sulis Hospital has been part of the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust since 2021.

It provides important diagnostic and surgical services for NHS patients across the region, helping to ease pressure on the main RUH site.

Despite the hospital’s growth and the increasing number of people relying on its services, there has been no bus service to the business park for many years.

The group says this is particularly concerning given the hospital’s role of delivering NHS care to people across the wider region, including communities along the Bath and Somer Valley corridor.

The scale of the problem is reflected in the hospital’s latest figures.

Over the past 12 months, Sulis Hospital has seen around 110,000 patient visits; of these, 37,265 were for diagnostic appointments lasting less than an hour, creating a steady flow of patient arriving and leaving throughout the day.

The hospital’s workforce has also grown substantially with staff numbers more than doubling in three years to more than 500.

Without a bus service, most patients and staff have little choice but to travel by car increasing pressure on parking at Bath Business Park with vehicles spilling into nearby residential streets.

Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine said: “I’ve heard from constituents who are struggling to get to NHS appointments because there’s no bus service to Sulis Hospital, leaving those without a car reliant on lifts or expensive taxis to access the care they need.

“WECA has ambitions to improve skills and employment across the region, but without basic public transport, those ambitions will be much harder to achieve.

“I want WECA to take another look at the funding and work with us to find a realistic solution. People should not have to rely on lifts or taxis to access healthcare.”

Hospital director at Sulis Hospital, Simon Milner, said: "Getting to the hospital should not be an additional obstacle to receiving care. A bus service would give patients and staff another way to reach the hospital and would also benefit the many other employers based at Bath Business Park.”

Chief Medical Officer at Bath and NE Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board Bernie Marden added: “Making sure people can get to the healthcare they need is an important part of delivering fair and accessible NHS care.

“Reliable public transport links would make it easier for these people to access those services and would benefit the wider community too.

“We need to look at transport and healthcare together and work with local partners to find a practical, long-term solution.”