Philip Dunne comments on today's announcement by Shropshire County PCT on proposals for Ludlow Hospital to be put to the PCT Board on 24th October.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."