Crunch time for decision on inpatient beds at Bishop's Castle hospital

Admissions to the 16 beds at Bishop's Castle Community Hospital were 'temporarily' closed in October 2021 due to issues with staffing levels – and have yet to reopen some 23 months on.

The meeting of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust's (ShropCom) board will take place at 3pm at SpArC Theatre, Brampton Road, in Bishop's Castle on Thursday, September 7.

Members of the public are able to attend and registration is open online for residents to reserve a place.

The meeting agenda, as well as information regarding the public engagement report, are available to view on the trust website.

The meeting was originally due to be held on August 3, but was postponed when the trust said it was carrying out a review of its efforts to recruit staff for the unit.

Instead, campaigners from the 'Save our Beds' group staged an 'empty chair' protest, which saw hundreds of people marching through the town in an effort to show the strength of feeling over the move.

Campaigners say these beds are vital for post-op recovery, respite and end-of-life care, taking pressure off major hospitals by freeing up beds for urgent and acute cases.

ShropCom has argued that it cannot safely staff the beds, and says that it has been unable to recruit fresh staff – a claim disputed by the campaigners, who have described the recruitment efforts as flawed.

A statement from Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust said: "The trust has engaged with the public over the last two months on the decision it is planning to make on September 7 with regard its provision of the inpatient service at Bishop’s Castle.

"The engagement information and wider information required by the board has been collated and is now publicly available on the trust’s website.

"The public are able to attend and observe the board meeting and registration is now open via eventbrite.com/bishops-castle-board-meeting."