THE chairman of the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital believes there is some hope for cautious optimism with local health services but many concerns remain.

It follows a meeting involving NHS chiefs and Ludlow MP and Health Minister Philip Dunne.

Peter Corfield, chairman of the hospital League of Friends, says that the ‘temporary’ closure of the midwife-led maternity unit in Ludlow will only be justified if on-going staffing problems are solved.

The meeting included Sarah Jameson, head of midwifery at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, and its chief executive Simon Wright.

“There can be little doubt that there is a manpower crisis within the maternity services in Shropshire, including Telford and Wrekin, caused in part by reliance on staff working considerable amounts of overtime to cover vacancies and sickness, changing models of care and increasing staff worries of exposure to risk of blame and adverse publicity,” said Peter Corfield.

“The horrendous scenario of no-notice closures earlier this year clearly could not be sustained and indeed was creating very dangerous situations.

“It seems that the closure of the maternity-led units for 24 weeks to allow for recruitment and training will be seen to be justified if the staff issues are properly addressed and the future of the rural MLUs assured.”

The decision to close the midwife-led units followed a succession of what were described as short-term and temporary closures that were blamed on staff shortages caused by sickness.

But Peter Corfield said another meeting involving other Hospital League of Friends in Shropshire and the Clinical Commissioning Group did nothing to provide reassurance about the future of community hospitals like Ludlow.

“Just about every aspect of the NHS seems to be ‘under review’ at the moment, either nationally or locally or both,” he said.

“Local residents, and the public at large, need to have some comfort that the services they need will be available locally.

“We have actively sought some assurance about the future of Ludlow hospital and at every turn we are told that the hospital is not under threat of closure. As our primary purpose is to support and provide comforts for patients and users of our facilities we must remain convinced that this local need will be met and we will challenge any move to the contrary.”

Peter Corfield said that there have been some positive developments.

“Within our hospital there are many positive developments – the ultrasound scanning is operating to capacity and discussions are continuing with the obstetric consultant to provide on-site ante-natal scans,” said Peter Corfield.

“We will be funding the upgrade of x-ray facilities, which will also aid the minor injuries unit, which at long last is fully staffed.

“Although recruitment is still difficult some progress has been made - all unregistered nurse vacancies have been filled and ward sisters should also soon be appointed.

“Bed occupancy has been running at over 95% at times but the good weather has recently eased demand and admissions have reduced.”