Campaign to Save Community Hospitals - Ludlow Community Hospital

Supporting the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital

League of Friends

Proposals for development of a long-term improvement in healthcare facilities for residents of South Shropshire

Click here for details

League of Friends
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting held on Friday 3 November 2006 | click here (.doc)

Letter to Friends of Ludlow Community Hospital from Elisabeth Buggins, Chairman WMSHA

7th December 2006

Click here to see letter.

Ludlow mental health decision

24th October 2006

Philip Dunne comments on news that Shropshire PCT has just decided to approve the recommendation to close the Whitcliffe Ward at Ludlow.

“I am very disappointed indeed that Shropshire PCT has decided to close the Whitcliffe Ward in Ludlow.

Despite overwhelming opposition to closure from the public consultation, mental health patients and their carers are once again bearing the brunt of cost cutting in the county.

I shall work with the PCT and local community groups to work up a viable alternative future for Ludlow hospital.

I hope this will include restoring capacity for handling mental health patients. I am meeting the Chief Executive of Staffordshire Mental Health Trust in the next few weeks to persuade him to consider commissioning beds in a rejuvenated community hospital.”

Decision day looms for local Hospitals

23rd October 2006

Tomorrow Shropshire County PCT board meets to decide the fate of Ludlow and Bishop’s Castle Hospitals.

I have been scrupulous in keeping party politics out of the local campaign to save our hospitals. Indeed I invited the Labour candidate for the Ludlow constituency to join the marches held at the start of this year through the streets of Bridgnorth and Ludlow; and to his credit he came.

National press has recently run an analysis of the location of hospitals under threat. There is a clear correlation between those hospitals faced with cuts or closures being disproportionately in Conservative and LibDem constituencies compared with Labour.

Last week at the Public Accounts Committee I had the chance to quiz the Chief Executive of the NHS. He denied any political interference or meetings with Ministers to discuss the location of hospital cuts. But he also denied knowing how many jobs will be cut across the NHS as a result of its current financial crisis. He is new to his job, to be fair, but he needs to get out more. Trained healthcare professionals are losing their jobs. Hospital services are being cut.

In Shropshire less is spent per head on mental health services already than the average across the country. Why should this cinderella service have to bear the brunt once more?

I hope the PCT Board will give Ludlow hospital a real chance to stay intact and buck this trend. All campaigners are seeking is to stop ward closures while the community comes up with a viable alternative.

Ludlow Hospital

18th October 2006

Philip Dunne MP who has been prominent in the campaign against cuts at Ludlow Community Hospital said of the PCT proposals:

"I welcome the chance for the community to develop an alternative vision for the Hospital. But we cannot do this with one hand tied behind our back. To close Whitcliffe Ward will undermine the hospital, its staff, local patients and their relatives.

I shall be pressing the PCT, the County Council, the Strategic Health Authority, South Staffordshire Mental Health Trust who take over mental health in Shropshire in six months time, to keep both Whitcliffe and Clee Wards open while this alternative is developed.

Ludlow needs a viable community hospital serving the needs of the people. We should not be left with a hospital struggling to survive with half its beds, fewer services and fewer staff."

Dunne backs Ludlow Hospital community trust plan

22nd September 2006

Commenting on SSDC's unanimous decision last night to support the joint response with the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital and Ludlow Town Council to the PCT's consultation on the future of Ludlow Community Hospital, local Ludlow councillor and MP Philip Dunne said:

"As the Member of Parliament I am delighted that the local authorities in Ludlow have backed the idea originally proposed by the League of Friends for an alternative vision for Ludlow Hospital to be explored. I believe this is the right way to go for the hospital, which otherwise will be marginalised by the NHS and seen as a place to save money not serve patients. I am writing personally as a stakeholder in the consultation exercise to request the PCT to give time to allow these plans to be brought forward to a detailed business plan. It was encouraging to learn that another community hospital in Norfolk has just been taken over by a not-for-profit trust and so been saved from closure. The consultants believe this should be a viable way forward for Ludlow too.

Ludlow people have campaigned hard to save their hospital, we showed last night that we are untied in preventing cuts and taking positive initiative to build services for the future. I hope the NHS will give the time and work with people in South Shropshire to make this happen."

Turning to the detailed critique of the PCT's proposals endorsed by the District Council, Mr Dunne said: "SSDC has supported the fundamental flaws in the PCT's proposals which I and others have been flagging for months:

• The mental health Whitcliff Ward should not be closed, in particular now we know the redevelopment of Shelton is up in the air.
• The threatened closure of the Clee Ward with its 20 rehabilitation beds has not been justified based on local current and predicted need.
• Cuts in District Nursing and Health Visitors would cut services in the community precisely when more would be needed if the rehab beds were closed.South Shropshire already has a shortage of community nurses: we are the only district in the county to have had no twilight hours service from District Nurses for some time."

Join the March

Saturday 22nd July 2006

Moving off from Castle Square at 10am to St Peter’s Churchyard

The League of Friends are organising another march, to be led by our local MP Philip Dunne and other political leaders uniting to save Ludlow Community Hospital from the round of cuts proposed.

Letter from League of Friends to Chief Executive of Shropshire PCT

Click here to download letter (.doc)

Text of Letter:

12th July 2006

Ms J A Grant
Chief Executive
Shropshire County Primary Care Trust
William Farr House
Mytton Oak Road
Shrewsbury SY3 8XL

Dear Ms Grant,

We have read with interest the White Paper “Our health, our care, our community” which provides guidelines for investing in the future of community hospitals and services. As you will be aware from our letter of 1 June 2006 we have been actively considering alternatives to the proposals contained in your Service Plan Consultation Document. Our preferred solution, which reflects the overwhelming support of the community, fits precisely into the model proposals in this White Paper.

We note in Section 3 the DoH guidance to SHAs and PCTs regarding reductions in services which reflect short-term financial considerations rather than a longer term view. We also note that the DoH now expects any such proposals to be reviewed in the light of this new document.

It is our view, supported by clinical opinion and reliable statistics, that your proposals for the closure of Whitcliffe and Clee wards at Ludlow Hospital are based solely on the need to meet short-term financial targets. We have failed to detect any evidence that the PCT has taken a long-term view of services for the South Shropshire community.

We seek your confirmation therefore that you will now review and withdraw your proposals until such time as a sustainable long-term solution can be agreed with the community and key stakeholders.

Yours sincerely,

PETER W CORFIELD

Chairman

Philip Dunne speaks out for Shropshire's Community Hospitals during a debate in the House of Commons

24th May 2006

Mr. Philip Dunne (Ludlow) (Con): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Peter Viggers) on securing this debate; it is the second in which I have participated that emphasises the importance of our community hospitals.

In January, I joined the trustee group of community hospitals acting nationally together, which is chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart); a number of other hon. Members have also joined. The group identified that of 322 hospitals in England, 80 were at risk of service cuts or closure at the point when it did that work. Three of those hospitals were in my constituency, and I want to draw the Minister’s attention to what has happened in them so that he gets a picture of what is going on in some of the more remote parts of the country, where the issues are particularly relevant.

As we have heard, the Government publishedtheir White Paper in February. It gave considerable comfort to those of us who are concerned aboutour community hospitals, as it suggested thatthe Government were listening to the concerns of the people who used those hospitals. Many of the arguments that we had put forward in the months leading up to the White Paper’s publication coincided with those of the Government, so we had some sense that our message was getting through. It was disappointing, to say the least, that very little of the Government’s message seemed to filter down to the bureaucrats who run strategic health authorities and primary care trusts that are responsible for running our community hospitals.

David Taylor: I endorse the hon. Gentleman’s remarks about the initiative taken by the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart), on which I congratulate him, to ensure that fragmented voices were turned into an organised chant.

Some months ago, we were reassured about the apparent new direction for community hospitals; effectively, 5 per cent. of general hospital expenditure was to be transferred over 10 years. However, there is, was and will be a risk that the finances of those acute hospitals will be destabilised by the proposal. Perhaps the funds should not be top-sliced from their expenditure. Does the hon. Gentleman agree?

Mr. Dunne: Actually, the experience in Shropshire has been the reverse: the primary care trusts are helping to fund the acute hospital deficits. In Shropshire, the deficits have been created in the acute trusts. To repair their budgets, they are looking to extract money from the primary care trusts.

In March, the primary care trust in my area eventually announced that it would not close any of the three hospitals in my constituency. That was a great relief to the community. The primary care trust then produced a document at the beginning of May. As I said directly to the trust when it presented the document to the overview and scrutiny committee, the service plan for Shropshire County primary care trust is a thin, weak document. It fails both to give the context in which the savings are supposed to be made and to provide any clear guidance about whether the proposed savings will be sufficient to meet the deficits that it seeks to identify.

Bridgnorth community hospital has had a great deal of investment by the NHS over the previous 12 months and is currently in the process of being rebuilt, which is welcome. The document said that it would be saved and that it would face no job or bed cuts. That is a great tribute to the people of Bridgnorth, who campaigned actively to save it. The leader of Bridgnorth district council is listening to this debate, and I pay tribute to Councillor Elizabeth Yeomans for the work that she and many others did to save their hospital. That is the good news.

The bad news relates to the other two hospitals. Ludlow community hospital is threatened with the closure of two of its wards, with the loss of more than 30 beds and many jobs—as yet, the detail has not been enunciated by the PCT. The hospital is faced with the closure of the final mental health ward in the Shropshire community, with the exception of a small number of beds in Whitchurch in north Shropshire. Bishop’s Castle community hospital—the third hospital—will close; at least, there are plans for that to happen. The site will be handed over to a nursing home operator who currently operates on part of the site. The number of NHS-funded beds will be reduced from 24 this time last year to 12.

The mental health aspect particularly worries me and many of my constituents in Ludlow. The primary argument is that this is a value-for-money exercise, as the mental health ward has not been operated in Ludlow at full capacity and should therefore be closed. The director of mental health in Shropshire County PCT has admitted in public meetings that it is not his preference to have to close the ward and that the decision is entirely driven by efficiency savings required by the PCT to help shore up the financial deficits in the remainder of the Shropshire health economy.

One of the reasons why the mental health divisionin the PCT has operated so successfully within budget in recent years is that its primary provision is at the Shelton hospital. I understand that it is the second to last Victorian mental health asylum still operating in the UK, and it will be the last remaining one, because there are no plans to redevelop it for some time. While its staff do the best that they can, the provision is acknowledged to be substandard. The impact on patients who require acute care of going to that facility is likely to be significant and the impact on the carers who look after them is likely to be even more so, because the geography involved in travelling from the Ludlow catchment area to Shrewsbury is significant.

I shall briefly illustrate that point. Yesterday, a group of concerned residents led by John Nash undertook a journey from Ludlow to Shelton for a theoretical one-hour visit by public transport. The six of them caught the 435 bus from Ludlow to Shrewsbury at 11.50 am. They had to change in Shrewsbury to catch the bus to take them to the hospital at Shelton. One of the group is a frail lady in her 80s who is a former physiotherapist, and she got home to Ludlow at5.40 pm, which represents a journey of almost six hours for a one-hour visit. She would currently be able to walk around the corner to her local community hospital. The ability for the carers of our most vulnerable mental health patients to continue to provide such family contact, as it were, will be severely reduced.

I should like to dwell briefly on the impact of the closure of the other rehabilitation wards. The NHS has argued that it should justify the closures on the basis of an equity audit. The equity profile of primary care and community services for Shropshire County PCT, published in May 2005, argues that

“NHS improvement, expansion and reform should narrow the health gap by ensuring that service planning is performed by an equity audit.”

The equity audit that has supposedly been carried out to justify the reduction of rehabilitation beds has not been made public. It has been argued that attempts are being made to provide a fairer allocation of beds across the county, which is why beds are being cut in Ludlow and Bishop’s Castle. Yet the document also covers the question of need, which was not addressed in the PCT’s latest analysis, among the 18 catchment areas in Shropshire. Four of them serve the Ludlow community hospital area, and they all have a higher need for the 65 to 74-year-olds, as identified in the summary, and all bar one are in the higher category for the 75-plus group. Three of the four catchment areas have the highest dependency ratio per catchment area in Shropshire. Three of the four have the lowest ratio of GPs per head of population in Shropshire, and two of the four have the lowest number of patients per practice nurse.

There is a clear need for beds to be available in Ludlow, and for long-term beds in Bishop’s Castle. I have been pressing the PCT to commit itself to a 10-year contract for NHS-funded beds. Experience elsewhere in Shropshire shows that it will commit to much shorter contracts, but that once they end, the number of beds is cut. That salami slicing cannot continue, or our community hospitals will all be closed within a short time.

Dunne comments on health cuts in Shropshire

8th May 2006

Philip Dunne MP attended this morning's presentation by Shropshire health chiefs to the joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee on phase one consultation of reconfiguration plans for Shropshire County PCT.

Having addressed the meeting to stand up forcefully for his constituents who have lost most from this review, he commented on the individual elements of the plan:

1. Formal consultation
It is very disappointing that after all this time the health sector in Shropshire cannot get its act together to let us know the full picture. Much of the PCTs proposals rely on the Acute hospitals reconfiguring, so it is hard to assess only seeing half the picture.

2. Ludlow
2.1 Whitcliffe ward
Closure will be vehemently resisted by local people. This decision is purely financially driven, as admitted by the Mental Health Director, who confirmed his service is in surplus and being forced to make more savings to help plug the whole elsewhere.

I called on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to request formally for the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to review the way this decision appears to have been taken before last Christmas and only now formally acknowledged by the PCT.

I also called on the Scrutiny Committee to insist on involvement by South Staffordshire Healthcare Trust which is due to take over responsibility for mental health provision in Shropshire from 1st April next year. As this Trust will soon be responsible, its managers may take a very different view on the quality of patient care available in Ludlow and the impact its closure would have on the families of those concerned.

Patient care for the most vulnerable in our communnity does not seem to be driving these proposals.

2.2 Clee ward + District Nursing
The plans to close between 15 and 20 beds in Ludlow rely on an assessment of local need. The PCT claim many beds used in Ludlow are for rehabilitation of patients who should be closer to their own homes. Well if so, why has the PCT not been transparent and set out that information in the consultation document?

The Acute hospitals are regularly sending patients to Ludlow since they have no beds. Clee ward should not be considered for closure until it is clear the necessary beds will be available in Shrewsbury or elsewhere to take care of these patients. This is a good example of the problems posed by this two-stage consultation.

The longer duration stays in Ludlow are due in part to the lack of available District Nursing and Social Services care in the home. The PCT needs to be able to show that resources are there to provide care at home. Proposed savings of £400,000 from District Nursing and Health Visiting is worrying.

I cited the example of a lady in Ludlow hospital right now who is diabetic but unable clinically to continue injecting herself with insulin. There is no District Nurse cover available to do so at her home in the evenings, so she cannot be discharged from hospital. Such problems are likely to become more not less frequent with these proposals and increasing incidence of diabetes in the county.

I warned the PCT that the community in Ludlow and the surrounding area will oppose these cuts vigorously.

3. Bishop's Castle
The proposed closure of Stone House and replacement with NHS funded beds in an expanded residential home remains uncertain.

The huge write-off of £700,000 required in the current year's Trust accounts of such a change of use of the hospital will itself take 5 years of the £150,000 full year's savings to pay off. This appears to exacerbate the Trust's current year deficit rather than improve it.

The number of NHS beds needs to be firmed up. Local GPs tell me 12 is not enough. We need to see a long-term contract between the Trust and the residential home operator, I have argued for 10 years, so the NHS does not chip away at the number of beds funded as soon as it can. I accept the need for periodic review of any contract to ensure usage and standards are maintained.

4. Bridgnorth
I welcome the decision not to make cuts to the number of beds or facilities in Bridgnorth. I understand vacancies arising within the Community Hospital will not be filled, unless for a critical role. Also the PCT is exploring increasing the day case surgery usage as it is operating at only 50% of capacity. This is potentially of concern if the conclusion of this review is to close rather than increase its usage.

But generally Bridgnorth is reprieved which is good news, and acknowledged as a model for community healthcare provision in the county.

CHANT Rally

28th March 2006

Local MP, Philip Dunne, presented petitions to Parliament as part of the record breaking achievement under which 44 petitions were presented on behalf of community hospitals under threat right around the country. This followed the successful rally organised by CHANT (Community Hospitals Acting Nationally Together) addressed by David Cameron MP and Boris Johnson MP (Chairman of CHANT).

Three buses went down to London from Shropshire, one from Bridgnorth, one from Ludlow including people from Bishop's Castle and one from Whitchurch. Close to a hundred people in all.

Photo: Philip Dunne tells "Tony Blair" about threats to services in Ludlow hospital.

Community Hospitals saved!

24th March 2006

Commenting on this morning's announcement by Shropshire County PCT that it was ruling out closure of any of the four Community Hospitals in Shropshire, including Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Bishop's Castle in his constituency, local MP Philip Dunne said:

"I am delighted that local health chiefs have stepped back from the brink and decided to save each of our hospitals. Quite right too, they should never have been put at such risk. I am convinced that people power has been critical to this decision. The overwhelming public reaction to the threatened closures has changed attitudes towards our Community Hospitals.

I want to thank all those who have made the effort to voice their concerns, from the League of Friends, the GPs and nurses who would be affected, to residents who joined the march, signed a petition, or wrote a letter. It has been a huge effort by the whole community.

But we cannot rest. The devil may be in the detail. Next month more information will be available about what service changes are proposed for the Formal Consultation from May, which the PCT says are expected to focus on:
- the range and efficiency of services provided in Community Hospitals; and
- the location of in-patient care for Secondary Care (Hospital) specialties.

This looks like cuts in services. I remain worried about the Whitcliffe mental health ward.

There is also no word yet on where the substantial savings are going to be made. We must remain vigilant and keep up our campaign to maximise use of our Community Hospitals, not cut them."

Click here to download Strategic Service Plan Briefing (Word doc)

JOIN THE NATIONAL “CHANT” RALLY AT PARLIAMENT ON 28TH MARCH

13th March 2006

“CHANT” is an organisation made up of some 80+ communities around the country whose hospitals are under threat of closure, and Ludlow’s League of Friends has become a member. It is very important that we have a very visible presence at this Rally, as it will almost certainly be covered by all the National TV News channels, and we must show the Shropshire PCT that we are there with a substantial number of protesters. M.P. Philip Dunne will meet us at Westminster, and there will be addresses by M.P.s Boris Johnson, Graham Stuart and Steve Webb.

The League of Friends has booked coaches from Whittles to take Ludlow protesters to the rally. These coaches will leave the Smithfield car park at 7.45am. Assembly at Westminster is from 12 noon, and the Rally will take place outside Parliament between 1 and 2pm, after which the coaches will return to Ludlow, arriving back at Smithfield around 7pm.

In order to ensure that we fill the coaches properly and do not waste seats/money, tickets will be available from Friday, 17th March until Saturday 25th March only at the Tourist Information Centre in the Market Square. We are asking each person to pay the TIC £10 for his/her ticket, and that £10 will be refunded in full to each person in exchange for their ticket as they board the buses. The transport is being paid for out of the Friends Fighting Fund to which so many of you have contributed, and the £10 is merely a device to ensure that people do show up on the day.

Should the available seats be sold out before 25th March we shall hold a waiting list and do all possible to secure another coach.

The League of Friends will bring along banners and placards for distribution on the coaches. However, anyone who would like to make their own is encouraged to do so, ensuring that LUDLOW is extremely prominent on it.. Bring along food and drink to last you for the day and wear comfortable shoes. Toilet stops will be made.

It is hoped that Ludlow will have a very strong showing at this rally, so go along to the TIC and get your tickets now. If you have any questions, please call Elaine Ward on 875701 or Pat Hansen on 878819.

Commenting on the Westminster Rally, Philip Dunne MP said:

"I hope as many people as possible are able to join the League of Friends delegation to the Westminster Rally on 28th March. It would help to endorse the strength of local feeling if people from Ludlow could turn out in London in force for this rally. I joined the national steering committee for CHANT which is organising the rally, since I am one of a handful of MPs with three Community Hospitals under threat. I hope they will all be well represented and look forward to meeting those who are able to come."

Philip Dunne MP comments on Shropshire Health Chief Announcement

7th March 2006

Commenting on the announcement by Shropshire health chiefs, Ludlow MP Philip Dunne said:
"I am very disappointed that local health chiefs have ignored pleas by so many people to put them out of their misery and confirm the future for our Community Hospitals in Shropshire. This announcement might as well not have been made. It takes us no further forward and merely prolongs the uncertainty.

Confirmation of the continuation of A&E at both Shrewsbury and Telford is welcome, but this had been publicly flagged some weeks ago by the Chief Executive of the acute Trust. The fact that no such assurances have been given in this announcement about the future of any of our Community Hospitals is very worrying. I deeply regret that health chiefs did not take this opportunity to rule out closures."

Photo courtesy of Shropshire Star

Original statement from Shropshire Health Chief, Clive Walsh

PRESS RELEASE

The NHS in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin - Strategic Service Plan

Background

The aim of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Strategic Service Plan is to develop clinically and financially sustainable health services for the people of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.

In 2005, the NHS commissioned Finnamore Management Consultants (FMC) to produce a report on the options for change in the local area. The options put forward by FMC formed the basis of the pre-consultation, which took place with key stakeholders in November and December 2005.

The Strategic Service Plan is being developed through a partnership of all four NHS organisations in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin - Shropshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT), Telford and Wrekin PCT, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt NHS Trust.

The key stakeholders responded to the NHS by recognising the nature and extent of the local problems, but asking for very careful consideration of options before any action was taken. Although the pre-consultation exercise did not set out to engage members of the public, many responses were received. These responses were mainly focused on two issues:

• the option of closing one or more of the Community Hospitals
• the option of creating primarily emergency and elective hospital sites in Telford and Shrewsbury

Current work

The local NHS organisations are working on the following themes:
• Community Nursing
• Community Hospitals
• General Medical Services
• Medicines Management
• Admissions Avoidance/Referral Management
• Secondary Care (Hospital) specialties

Julie Grant, Chief Executive of Shropshire County PCT is quoted as saying:
The PCT is nearing completion of modelling service changes to the community hospitals to deliver increased efficiency. Any significant changes will be subject to formal consultation and will be within the context of the recently published White Paper 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services'."

At this stage, one option has been excluded from further consideration, namely the separation of emergency and elective clinical services between the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal sites (reconfiguration); the rationale being that very limited savings are available from this option.

Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals is also working with the accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers, which is assisting the Trust as part of the national "turnaround" programme. Although reconfiguration to create emergency and elective hospital sites has been ruled out, the Trust is committed to making substantial efficiency savings to balance its books.

Timetable for recommendations and Formal Consultation.

The two PCTs (Telford & Wrekin PCT and Shropshire County PCT) are jointly acting as consultors, and are formulating recommendations for Formal Consultation.

Any proposals for significant changes to the current provision of health services in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin would then be subject to a 12-week Formal Consultation. This would include consultation with the public.

The Formal Consultation gives all stakeholders, including NHS staff and the public, the opportunity to discuss exactly what those recommendations might mean for the future provision of services before the proposals are implemented.

The NHS in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin had initially hoped to start formal public consultation last month. However, the NHS organisations across the county felt it was important to ensure any proposed service changes deliver patient care in line with the latest policy announcements (e.g. the recent White Paper on community services) and to await the resolution of some remaining uncertainties across the NHS nationally for the coming financial year starting in April 2006 (e.g. the implications of the introduction of the new "Payment by Results" system of financial flows in the NHS).

Subject to resolution of these uncertainties, the NHS is aiming to commence Formal Consultation after the end of March 2006, and this will commence with a briefing of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Letter to Philip Dunne MP from Strategic Health Authority

28th February 2006

Click here for full text of letter from Mike Brereton, Chairman of Shropshire and Staffordshire NHS Strategic Health Authority.

Letter to Philip Dunne MP from Department of Health

21st February 2006

Click here for full text of letter from the Minister of State, Rosie Winterton, MP.

Ludlow campaigners take fight to the top

17th February 2006

Hospital campaigners Philip Dunne MP and Elaine Ward, Chair of the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital are taking their fight to the top of local health chiefs today.

Michael Brereton, Chairman of Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority is visiting Ludlow today at Mr Dunne's invitation to see for himself the importance of Ludlow Hospital to the local community.

Mr Dunne said ahead of the meeting today: "I have met local NHS Trust bosses over the last week and called for them to rule out closure of the Community Hospitals in Shropshire, just as they have ruled out closure of either A&E unit in Shrewsbury or Telford. This they refuse to do at this stage. The reason is apparently because the Strategic Health Authority is looking for more savings from their budgets for next year.

So I am pleased the Chairman of the Strategic Health Authority has agreed to come to Ludlow. He will be left in no doubt as to the strength of local feeling about the importance of our hospitals to the local community. I will also tell him what the Secretary of State confirmed about extending the period for debt repayment of the Trusts."

MP meets Secretary of State to discuss hospital

1st February 2006

Philip Dunne (MP for Ludlow), together with Owen Paterson (MP for North Shropshire) had a "a relatively encouraging meeting" on Tuesday afternoon with the Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt MP to discuss the fate of Community Hospitals in Shropshire.

Mr Dunne said: "While she was careful to make no promises, she acknowledged that our community hospitals and primary treatment centres in Shropshire are in many respects a model of what the Government is trying to achieve in delivering care in the community as set out in the White Paper which she published on Monday."

Mr Dunne added today: "The Secretary of State confirmed that she is seeking to encourage greater use of community hospitals. This is a potential lifeline to Bridgnorth and Ludlow hospitals in my constituency and offers hope that Bishop's Castle GP beds could be retained.

She also indicated that if the NHS Trusts can get their annual running costs into balance on a monthly basis, she will be prepared to consider permitting an extended repayment schedule for their historic debt.

She expressed confidence in the new management team at the Acute Hospitals and hopes they will be able to generate savings from administrative improvements and reducing prescription costs to minimise impact on patient care.

She will be issuing guidance to the PCTs to highlight the proposals in the White Paper about the role of Community Hospitals and in a few weeks will issue further guidance about how PCTs can bid for Government funding to deliver modernised facilities. If the Trusts can sort out their current funding crisis, I shall be pressing for them to bid for such funding to maximise use of Ludlow Community Hospital by bringing healthcare providers onto the site. The GP practices also support this."

Mr Dunne added: "it is premature to say our hospitals are secure, but this is another positive signal that our community is being listened to. I shall now brief the Strategic Health Authority and other local health chiefs in Shropshire on my discussions with the Secretary of State, I hope they will listen too."

Parliamentary Debate

25th January 2006

A one and a half hour debate was held in the House of Commons on Healthcare Services in Shropshire on 25th January 2006. The debate was secured by Philip Dunne MP who introduced the debate and focussed on the threats of closure and service cuts to our Community Hospitals.

Cross-party support for the Community Hospitals was expressed by all MPs who spoke in the debate. In addition to Philip Dunne (Ludlow), all other Shropshire MPs spoke, namely Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham), Owen Paterson (North Shropshire), Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) and David Wright (Telford). Lembit Opik (Montgomeryshire) and Dr Richard Taylor (Wyre Forest) each contributed. Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury) wound up for the Opposition and called for the Contingency Fund to be used by Government to repay the historic debt of the NHS Trusts in Shropshire.

The Minister of State for Health Services, Rosie Winterton MP, responded to the debate and indicated that the Strategic Health Authority could decide to extend the repayment period for debts of the Trusts.

Philip Dunne referred specifically to Ludlow Community Hospital during the debate:

"The community hospital in Ludlow serves most of the district of South Shropshire. It has 72 beds and treats 810 in-patients annually, including those in the mental health ward and the maternity unit. The maternity unit is housed in a building that was originally the town's workhouse. It may even be one of those places often cited, although not by name, by the Secretary of State to justify the modernisation programme. Last year, the hospital treated 11,000 out-patients, including X-ray and physiotherapy patients. Doctors and other health professionals in the town and the surrounding area would like to see services at the hospital maximised to consolidate their activities on the site, as is happening in Bridgnorth. Instead, it is threatened with closure because that would save £1 million, according to the same management consultants' report.

The hospital is one of the largest employers in the town, with some 150 jobs at stake. The Royal Shrewsbury hospital is 25 miles from Ludlow, up a busy and dangerous road. According to the 2001 census, Ludlow has a population of 9,250. Last week, I presented a petition signed by 10,220 residents who were protesting at the threatened closure of Ludlow hospital or a cut in services there. Perhaps some people signed twice, such is their anger. I could hardly blame them."

For a full text of the debate, click here.

Philip Dunne presents petition to Department of Health

17th January 2006

Philip Dunne presented a petition with 10,220 names to the Department of Health with a letter for the Secretary of State. Click here for full text of the letter.

Petition Presented to the House of Commons

17th January 2006

Message from your MP:

Philip Dunne says: "As your local MP, I have presented a petition to Parliament, with 10,220 signatures from local residents in Ludlow and the surrounding area."

Photo courtesy of Shropshire Star

Thank you for joining the March

7th January 2006

On Saturday 7th January a rally a march was held though the city centre of Ludlow which highlighted public concern at the threat to our hospital and community services. Over 4,000 people braved a chilly January morning to attend the rally in Castle Grounds and march though the town to the Hospital.

Public Meeting with Health Chiefs

5th January 2006

400 Ludlovians packed a Public Meeting organised by the League of Friends in the Harley Centre on 5th January 2006. Elaine Ward, Chairman of the League of Friends introduced the meeting. The panel was chaired by former MP Matthew Green. Speakers on the panel were Mrs Liz Owen, Chairman of Shropshire County PCT; John Short, Director of Mental Health Services, Shropshire County PCT; Clive Walsh, Project Director; and Philip Dunne MP.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

LUDLOW HOSPITAL - THE FACTS

Annual Figures

Maternity Unit

108 Deliveries per year, 168 new mums and babies sent back to Ludlow, 4 home confinements, 411 parentcraft attendees, 934 antenatal attendees, 115 Consultant antenatal attendees, 1826 callers, check-ups, and reassurances by midwives to worried mums.

Nearest alternative - Shrewsbury (33 miles)

Stretton and Clee Wards

20 GP beds and 25 Consultant rehabilitation beds. 87% bed occupancy - 590 patients cared for. Direct admissions by local GPs for local patients who cannot be cared for at home. Transfers from acute wards at Shrewsbury and Telford and admission transfers from A&E’s. Also provide terminal/hospice care.

Nearest alternative - Shrewsbury

Whitcliffe Ward

18 bed Elderly mentally infirm secure unit caring for local patients.

Alternative: Shelton unit at Shrewsbury

Minor Injuries Unit and X-ray Department

9900 patients through the MIU, 3000 X-rays, 5000 physiotherapy treatments.

Nearest Alternative - Shrewsbury

Health visiting & District Nursing

1076 children on caseload, child protection care, new babies, child health clinic, health and safety, over-65 health care, child development assessments, home care nursing 7 days a week, residential home care, 180 district nursing patients a week, terminal care, hospital discharge care.

The hospital also hosts 14 consultant-led clinics each month, plus 9 other clinics, Occupation Therapy, Community Dental Service, intermediate care and rapid response emergency teams, Children’s services and Shropdoc, the out of hours GP service.

Alternative unknown

Copyright © Philip Dunne MP and Save Our Ludlow Hospital Campaign, 2005-06. All rights reserved.