HEALTH and the future of Ludlow Hospital dominated a packed Ludlow Town meeting.

It was standing room only after residents virtually queued up to ask questions and express concern about the threat to the hospital.

A question from health campaigner Joyce Brand set the tone for the evening at Ludlow Assembly Rooms.

“Will the Town Council be willing to take the lead in bringing together Ludlow residents to particularly alert them to the threats to local health services, in particular to raise the question of the maintenance of a minor injuries unit at Ludlow Hospital,” she asked

“It is unlikely that there will be the rural urgent care centres promised at the launch of Future Fit but, given the fact that we are a town which hosts literally thousands of visitors, we do need to be sure that minor accidents can be treated locally.”

Paul Draper, Mayor of Ludlow, pledged that the town council stood fully behind the campaign to secure the future of the hospital and had been in contact with the NHS Trust and Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Pat Hansen a long-time volunteer at Ludlow Hospital said that clinical and other staff at the hospital are scared for the jobs and see the closure in steps as wards are closed and the number of beds reduced.

Town Councillor Graeme Perks, said he had been involved in the major protests to save the hospital a decade ago and would be ‘at the barricades’ again if necessary.

There was a call for Ludlow MP Philip Dunne to get more involved in the issues affecting the town.