Ludlow hospital plans in jeopardy as officials oppose bailout

Work on the new hospital at the town's eco park was expected to start last autumn.

It would have replaced the community hospital in Gravel Hill and provided a new home for the town's Portcullis and Station Drive GP surgeries.

But the project was initially delayed due to a change in the wording of a clause in the Government's Health and Social Care Bill held up a deal on paying for the work.

The project was dealt a further blow when officials at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust revealed the project was facing a £1.1-million-a-year funding shortfall due to a miscalculation over the number of patients expected to use the site.

A plea was made to Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to help plug the gap for a period of 25 years.

But members of the CCG almost unanimously voted against it at a meeting held at Ludlow Racecourse yesterday.

Of the 15 voting board members, 14 voted against and one abstained due to a conflict of interests.

The future of the hospital will now be discussed at the Community Health NHS Trust's next board meeting on September 19. Options include scrapping the scheme altogether or scaling it down.

The meeting, attended by more than 100 people, was told the existing Community Hospital would be fit for purpose for the next five years if £160,000 was invested.

Dr Caron Morton, accountable officer for Shropshire CCG, said: "This has been a very difficult question and we recognise the gravity of this situation. The CCG does not feel able to underwrite this funding gap.

"However, we will continue to work alongside the Community Health trust to provide services in the Ludlow community."

After the meeting a spokesman for the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust said it was "obviously disappointed", but understood the reasons behind the decision.

• See also: Ludlow hospital bailout rejected to protect nurses' jobs