Move for improvements at Whitchurch Community Hospital

Health chiefs want to develop services at Whitchurch Community Hospital so that more patients in the north of the county can access care closer to home.

Bosses at the Shropshire Community Health Trust are in talks with commissioners about what services they can add.

The trust runs the county's four community hospitals in Whitchurch, Bishop's Castle, Ludlow and Bridgnorth.

But health campaigners have demanded to know more about the plans because they say healthcare in Whitchurch was dealt a blow when a hospital ward closed last year.

Beech Ward, which was the last dedicated elderly mentally ill ward in Shropshire, closed at the Claypit Street hospital despite a major campaign to save it.

The 16-bed ward closed in July 2011, but health chiefs insisted at the time that patient care would not be harmed because care in the community services were beefed up first. Beech Ward has been largely disused since it stopped providing mental health services, but the hospital's remaining beds continue to be used.

Yesterday, a meeting of the trust board in Whitchurch heard that talks are ongoing to determine what services would benefit patients in north Shropshire.

Mike Ridley, trust chairman, said: "We do see Whitchurch as a place where we will be developing services. It's important that these services are developed and patients can access care as close to home as possible."

He added: "We are in discussions with commissioners and as part of our plans we are looking at a range of developments and changes within Whitchurch Hospital."

Margaret Hiles, chairman of the hospital's league of friends, said: "We badly want the Beech Ward filled, and so do the public. There are all sorts of ideas, but lots of people are asking for chemotherapy services."

Mr Ridley said the trust was continuing to prepare for a shake-up of health services from April, when groups of GPs will take over responsibility for buying services for patients from the primary care trust.

Ted Wilson, the trust's director of operations, described the trust's relationship with the commissioning groups as 'delicate'.