Ludlow ward closure petition handed over to health bosses
A petition with more than 2,500 signatures was handed over to health bosses to stop the temporary closure of a ward at Ludlow Hospital.
Dr Catherine Beanland presented the form to members of the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust during a board meeting.
Dr Beanland, who gained the signatures in four days, said yesterday's meeting in Castle Hall, Bridgnorth, had left lots of questions unanswered and some of the figures needed further investigation.
Speaking after the meeting, she said: "The fundamental thing is the number of beds at Ludlow have been reduced and the task force set up to look into such matters has not been consulted at any point this year.
"The staff and doctors were not consulted and the public also had a right to be consulted on these changes.
"I am not sure the risks have been properly looked at or properly accredited.
"The problem is the number of beds used changes from week to week, with doctors on different rotas around the wards.
"It's difficult to know how many beds are needed from one week to the next but I know for a fact patients have been sent to Shrewsbury or Telford because there are no spaces for them in Ludlow.
"Nobody told us the number of beds was going to be reduced otherwise we would have kept an audit."
Dr Beanland admitted some sensible management was needed at the hospital but questioned why there were more than 400 hospital beds in Shrewsbury and just 24 in Ludlow.
"The population for Shrewsbury Atcham is about 100,000, the same as the population for the south Shropshire area," she said.
