CAMPAIGNERS have called the delay in opening the new Bicester Community Hospital a “golden opportunity” to add four more beds to the building before patients move in.

The hospital, which was due to open this month, will not be operational until 2015 due to what the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which funds the hospital, called minor problems.

It has 12 beds and was designed so it could be easily expanded and another four beds added by building another floor.

And Bicester resident John Broad, who was a member of the Community Hospital Engagement Forum that worked with health experts to plan the requirements for the new hospital, said this should be done as soon as possible.

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He said: “This delay could be a golden opportunity to expand.

“We will not be able to put the extra floor in when the hospital is in operation.

“It would be chaos trying to operate a hospital with a bunch of builders there. The health service will probably say we have not got the money, but surely we have if we use section 106 agreements.

“They give us an opportunity to turn this huge increase in housing into something positive.”

Cherwell district councillor for Bicester West, Les Sibley, backed Mr Broad’s calls for immediate expansion of the hospital.

He said: “Bicester is growing so fast we need a lot more healthcare providers.

“We should keep the current hospital open through the winter and put in those extra beds.

“They should have done this before the roof was put on but this is an opportunity to do this now that construction is delayed.”

Mr Sibley said while adding four new beds to the hospital would be a step in the right direction the growing population in Bicester meant more hospital capacity was needed.

Last week the council voted to approve changes to the Cherwell Local Plan, which could see more than 10,000 new homes built in Bicester by 2031.

More than 2,000 homes could be built in south-west Bicester, with another 1,900 planned for the Graven Hill site south of the town.

Developer A2Dominion has submitted two planning applications for 3,500 homes at the eco-town site in north-west Bicester.

Mr Sibley said: “I think there needs to be more hospital capacity across Bicester. Let’s do these beds now and then look at ways to build a new hospital which can go a long way to meeting the health needs of those in Bicester.”

Work began on the new community hospital in June 2013 after a 15-year battle to replace the existing building in Kings End, which has 11 beds.

In September a spokeswoman for Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group said work was effectively complete but contractors were dealing with minor problems.

She said: “Once we are satisfied that all the work is completed to make the building fit for occupation, the process of fire and safety training for staff and moving services to the new building will begin. The opening date will be confirmed once the work is completed.”

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