Fears that Ludlow Hospital will see bed numbers cut
Controversy continues over the fate of a hospital following high-level talks about its future.
Hopes of better services and fears of fewer beds at Ludlow Hospital have been expressed following a meeting of local health campaigners and NHS bosses.
Ludlow councillor Tracey Huffer, who sits on Shropshire Council's health scrutiny committee, said the NHS Future Fit review of services in the county can't afford to deliver what is mooted for Shropshire's more rural towns like Ludlow, putting the town's hospital at continued risk. She said she felt beds were being "ever reduced by stealth" at the venue.
But Ludlow MP Philip Dunne, who called the meeting on Wednesday night, said health bosses "clearly believe" Ludlow Hospital will become the base for a new urgent care centre (UCC), a move that it is hoped will safeguard the future of the hospital.
Urgent care centres are being considered for Bishop's Castle, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Oswestry and Whitchurch.
At the end of last week, Future Fit executives announced £5.3 million a year would be put aside for urgent care centres in the county, but delayed a decision on exactly where and how many there would be.
Councillor Huffer said: "With each UCC costing £1.3 million, and the need to pay for community services out of the same pot, there is only likely to be enough money for one or two UCCs in rural Shropshire. That still leaves Ludlow Hospital at risk of losing a bed-based hospital."
"We have already had the number of beds cut by half at Ludlow Hospital.
"I am seriously worried that rural health services are being wound down while we await a decision on Future Fit.
"All the indications suggest that our hospital won't become a UCC but a sort of 'community hub' for health facilities.
"Ludlow patients returning from acute care to recuperate are being placed in beds as far away as Leominster, Bishop's Castle and Bromyard.
"There is no longer any occupational therapy at our hospital. It seems we are becoming a 'community hub' by stealth."
But Mr Dunne disagreed, saying the signs were positive from health bosses.
He said: "This was an encouraging meeting, in which Shropshire CCG and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust both indicated clearly they believe Ludlow Hospital will become an urgent care centre."
