1 February 2010
Last week saw two of our community hospitals in south Shropshire facing very different issues, though both heading in the same positive direction.

On Tuesday worked stopped on the final phase of refurbishment of Bishop's Castle community hospital at Stone House. The workforce were told not to come on site and builders merchants began retrieving unpaid for goods.

It has taken nearly a week to establish that prime contractor Frank Galliers Ltd has suffered a multi-million pound litigation loss and appears to have ceased trading.

Shropshire County PCT secured the site and promptly began discussions with contractors to get the work finished. After last week's hiccup, hopefully this will soon be back on track to complete within 8 weeks so the newly refurbished hospital could be re-equipped for opening this Spring.

Meanwhile on Wednesday the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority approved the strategic outline business case put forward by Shropshire County PCT for a £27million redevelopment of a health village for Ludlow, combining the Community Hospital with the town's two GP practices to provide enhanced services. The SHA approved a £2m contribution to the capital cost, which will be funded under the NHS' Express LIFT scheme.

There are many details to be fine-tuned, including precise location and size, and much work to be done to turn this commitment into a modern health facility for all of south Shropshire and the 16,000 patients of Ludlow's GPs. But this is an essential first step, which I hope all in the community will welcome.

Two hospitals providing vital services to our communities, both threatened with closure four years ago, both now heading towards a future fit for our 21st century health needs.