Health Minister Philip Dunne in pledge on future of Ludlow Hospital

Mr Dunne, who became Minister of State for Health in Theresa May's recent reshuffle upon becoming Prime Minister, gave the assurance at the annual meeting of the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital on Wednesday evening.

However, he added that in his new role he would be advocating what was best for Shropshire but not making final decisions for his home constituency.

Mr Dunne told the League of Friends that a lot of the fear over the future of Ludlow Hospital had built up over a decade, especially after a proposed multi-million pound new hospital on the town's Eco Park, that had been years in the planning, was dropped in 2013.

But, he said, the addition of new facilities such as a dialysis unit at the hospital went "against the grain" of a perceived threat to the its future, and today better "joined-up" work happened across the NHS rather than relying on individual trusts to make big changes.

He said: "I can absolutely assure you that from my perspective Ludlow Hospital is an essential asset for the south of the county. It is going to remain a hospital. It is not going to be a volunteer-run wellbeing centre, let's not let that hare get running, it's going to frighten people.

"The reality here is we have got a hospital here providing good services, better than you get in community hospitals in many other parts of the county. We need to fight to keep that and improve services rather than reduce them."

However, he said, in his new role it was agreed he would not take decisions about anything that happens in Shropshire, "so I can continue to advocate for whatever seems to be the best thing for Shropshire without being asked to personally rubber stamp it at the end."

David Evans, accountable officer for Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, echoed Mr Dunne's view. He said: "Ludlow is not under threat of closure. Let me absolutely clear about that. I think there is real potential for Ludlow to become a health and wellbeing centre as well as a community hospital moving into the future."

But, he said, there may be "difficult choices" to be made on such things as the midwife-led unit at the hospital.

Andy Boddington, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, said it was good news. He said: "He would not have given such a clear commitment to Ludlow Hospital if he felt it was going to be axed on his watch."