Hospital campaign group to be formed

A group is to be formed to campaign for the future of Ludlow Community Hospital.

Oscars at Ludlow Assembly Rooms was packed on Tuesday evening (February 4) as residents heard from many people who are concerned about its current state.  It was organised by the Mayor of Ludlow, Councillor Beverley Waite, who believes the hospital’s building and services “have been deteriorating” and are “not fit for purpose”.

The meeting drew together a whole range of speakers including county councillor and health professional, Tracey Huffer, Dr Bernie Bentick (a former consultant at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital), Michael Evans and Jennifer Gill from the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital, and represenatives from Station Drive and Portcullis surgeries.

Councillor Josh Dickin (the Mayor of Bishop’s Castle) also gave a presentation on how the community helped save the town’s hospital from closure.

Shropshire Community Health Trust (ShropCom), which runs Ludlow Community Hospital, was not represented. However, prior to the meeting, its chief executive, Patricia Davies, and Simon Whitehouse (chief executive officer of NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, wrote an open letter highlighting their positon.

“The services provided at, and from, Ludlow Hospital, among which include audiology, maternity, minor injuries, outpatients, renal dialysis, and therapies, as well as the inpatient beds, continue to be a vital part of our long-term integrated health and care plans,” they said.

“Our ambition, and focus, continues to be about the provision of high-quality services to the community of Ludlow and surrounding areas, whilst seeking new and innovative opportunities to expand on the services.  All of this is based on meeting the individual needs of the area and local people.

“We have a system plan in development for our neighbourhoods, including Ludlow, that builds on the feedback that we received during the Big Conversation engagement sessions.

“Going forward, we will continue to work together, as NHS providers and commissioners, to seek opportunities to further develop services to meet the needs of local people now and for the future.

“Long-term, with regards to the hospital building specifically, we recognise that further work will be needed, due to the age of the estate.

“Therefore, we will continue to work with partners towards seeking additional investment, whilst in the meantime working with NHS Property

Services to maintain the existing estate. At present there is no immediate route to access any new public capital and it is important to recognise this at the outset.

“We are developing plans for continuing to engage and involve local people – we are committed to providing a positive patient experience at Ludlow Hospital and ensure our plans for the area are developed collaboratively with the county council, town Council, residents, and local partners to ensure they reflect local need.”

However, Cllr Waite has accused ShropCom of not responding directly to the town council, or the League of Friends, which she says is “very disturbing”.

“It is clear that people of Ludlow are quite passionate in their desire to keep our hospital,” said Cllr Waite.

“We have been kept in the dark about Shropcom’s plans for some time as services are progressively run down. We need to secure our hospital’s future and tonight shows that we are willing to fight hard to keep it.”

A campaign group will now be drawn up to identify the services Ludlow needs and secure them. It will also campaign to secure continued hospital services in the town irrespective of any plans for a new hospital in the future.

Meanwhile, Cllr Waite and the League of Friends will also write to Mrs Davies try to “pin ShropCom down on its immediate and medium-term plans for the hospital.”