Review called on axed Ludlow Hospital bid

It comes after after health chiefs were forced to pull the plug because they could not afford to pay for it.

The ambitious plans to relocate Ludlow's hospital and two doctors' surgeries has been scrapped following a vote at a meeting attended by more than 60 people.

An error in calculating how many patients would use the new Eco Park site had led to a funding shortfall of £1.1 million a year.

Peter Corfield, the hospital's League of Friends chairman, criticised those responsible for "not acting with due diligence" and branded them "incompetent".

And Mike Ridley, chairman of the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust behind the plans, admitted people would be called in from outside to look at what went wrong.

Mr Ridley admitted at yesterday's meeting there were "lessons to be learned".

"I am determined that if there are things that could have been done differently for the future, that they are addressed," he said.

"There will be an independent review into how this whole project has been managed.

"We will be passing it upstairs to the NHS Trust Development Authority and the results will be made public and discussed at a future board meeting.

"None of us are perfect, all of us hopefully want to learn and certainly learn from mistakes.

"This is no exception – we will look into this independently and the decisions that have been made, and we will come and report back."

The trust's interim chief executive, Julia Bridgewater, said health bosses had "left no stone unturned" in looking for ways to keep the project on the table.

But she said at most all they had been able to to do was cut the shortfall down to £800,000 per year – meaning it would still need an extra £20 million over the next 25 years from already stretched health budgets.

Instead, health chiefs have voted to invest £160,000 into Ludlow's existing community hospital in the town centre to ensure it is fit for purpose for the "next two to five years".

A task force will also be set up including patients, nursing staff, health chiefs and councillors to look at ways of improving healthcare in the town.

It could include making Ludlow a "test-bed" for new technology initiatives, the meeting was told.

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne said it was a "bleak day" for people in south Shropshire following the decision by health chiefs.

He had been a key driving figure in the bid to build a the hospital and two doctors surgeries on a patch of land on the Eco Park.

But today he hit out at health chiefs for pulling the plug on the project and questioned the way the health service was being managed in the county.

Mr Dunne said: "This is a bleak day for south Shropshire residents following the Community Health Trust's decision not to proceed with Ludlow Health Facility.

"The board backed down from pursuing this once in a generation project which would transform healthcare, despite having spent millions of pounds over several years and the project having received full NHS approvals over a year ago.

"This raises serious questions about the way the NHS has been managed in Shropshire and I welcome the announcement by the trust chairman of an independent review.

"A combination of changes in the assumptions about activity levels proposed to be transferred from acute settings, and the Clinical Services Review of services in acute and community hospitals announced recently, together influenced the decision not to replace the existing community hospital in Ludlow."

He added: "It is vital that the health needs of residents in and around Ludlow are given proper priority in this countywide review. I welcome a task force to decide what to do next, though it must inform decisions rather than be just another talking shop.

"I pressed the board to ensure this takes a comprehensive look at both health and social care facilities for the Ludlow area.

"I intend to play my part in driving this through to ensure Ludlow's hospital provides integrated, modern services for current and future generations."

• Star comment: Fiasco puts NHS chiefs into focus