FEARS are growing for the future of Ludlow Community Hospital.

As ‘The Advertiser’ went to press the hospital's League of Friends were holding a key meeting that could result in the launch of a re-run of the campaign mounted a decade ago to save the facility.

Supporters of the hospital at East Hamlet now believe there is a growing threat to its future.

The group has come full circle from fighting a successful campaign to save the hospital to winning a commitment to build a £27 million hospital and health village on the Eco Park.

Government changes to the NHS resulted in the axing of this project at the 11th hour in the autumn of 2013 and now the Friends believe the existing hospital is at risk again.

“The lack of a positive plan for the community hospitals has led to a fear that Ludlow will not feature in the proposals for an urgent care centre based on upgraded minor injuries and diagnostic facilities,” said Peter Corfield, chairman of the League of Friends.

“This, coupled with an apparent draconian reduction in in-patient beds at Ludlow, by almost 50%, has fuelled doubts about the future of the hospital.”

He fears that the future of community hospitals is being sidelined.

“Almost unanimously local residents, including our members, feel that while there is clearly a need to review and re-shape clinical services in Shropshire, the priorities are illogical,” said Mr Corfield.

“That accident and emergency services are stretched is undeniable but while long-term plans for Shrewsbury and Telford are being debated ad nauseam against a convoluted political history and impossible timescale, the future development of community hospitals is held in abeyance.

“It seems reasonable to assume that it would be beneficial to reduce the strain on the acute hospitals, their accident and emergency services and extended in-patient episodes, by bringing forward the urgent care centre services at each of the community hospitals to provide walk-in services closer to home and to use their in-patient capacity to reduce so called bed-blocking at the acute hospitals."

Joyce Brand, of the Ludlow based’ Save our Shropshire’ NHS, believes the town faces a major battle if it has any hope of retaining the hospital.

She said: “Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, espouses a renewed emphasis on community hospitals but this apparently has not permeated down to Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group whose representative recently briefed Ludlow Town Council to the effect that only one or two urgent care centres would be provided outside Shrewsbury and Telford, inferring that Ludlow was unlikely to be transformed into a community hub.”

The Ludlow based ‘Save our NHS in Shropshire’ group says that it is increasingly turning its focus to saving a hospital in the town.

It believes that the choice for the urgent care centre in south Shropshire will be between Ludlow and Bridgnoth and that if Ludlow loses out the hospital will not be viable.

Mike Sharon, NHS Future Fit programme director, says that there will be a genuine consultation and that no decisions have been made.

“NHS Future Fit is about making sure Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and mid-Wales have access to a wide range of NHS services that are fit to serve local people for decades to come,” he said.