Local MP, Philip Dunne, attended today's board meeting of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust’s held in public at the Mascall Centre Ludlow.

The room was packed with a coachload of supporters of the Save Our Beds campaign to reopen the in-patient beds at Bishop's Castle Community Hospital. Chief Executive Patricia Davies confirmed that the long and innovative recruitment campaign, so well supported by the local community, had recruited sufficient clinical and other staff to enable the hospital to reopen its beds.

In October 2021, the inpatient beds at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital were temporarily closed due to staffing shortages of permanent qualified nurses, which risked impacting on patient safety and quality of care. Following unsuccessful initial recruitment, the Trust then engaged fully with staff, patients, the wider public and stakeholders during summer of 2023, so that the Trust’s Board agreed there should be a new and better focussed effort on recruitment for a six month period. 

Five distinctive recruitment events have been held between October 2023 and March 2024, which had good attendance and allowed offers to both Registered Nurses (RNs) and Healthcare Support Workers (HCSW) posts. The Trust has confirmed a slight over-recruitment, up to 19 RNs and HCSWs, which will allow for any withdrawals by prospective members of staff, putting the Trust in a good position for the future. There remain a small number of roles to fill, but these do not impact on patient safety. The Board recommended today that they were satisfied that it was safe to move towards re-opening the inpatient service at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital.

Mr Dunne said:

“This is spectacularly good news! After some two years of closure there has been a huge effort by the team at ShropCom, which would not have happened had it not been so well backed by many volunteers in Bishop's Castle. 

“I saw this novel way of attracting potential recruits to the roles available for myself when I joined a recruitment day earlier this year. The key was having local people on hand to sing the praises of life in the charming but small market town of Bishop’s Castle right on the Welsh border.

“I hope those staff who have applied to join the team at Bishop's Castle will be signed up as soon as possible so that the hospital can reopen its doors to in-patients in weeks rather months to help ease the pressure on hospital beds across the county."

Photo: Bishop's Castle ward manager Amanda Houghton celebrates with Philip Dunne MP at news of reopening in-patient beds and other services at the community hospital