Plan to buy St Ives hospital to open wellbeing centre

The Edward Hain Community Hospital site was shut in 2020

Campaigners who want to buy a former hospital in west Cornwall say they have raised £600,000 towards their plans.

In-patient beds at St Ives' Edward Hain Community Hospital closed in 2016 before the whole site shut in 2020.

The Friends of Edward Hain Group said it wanted to buy the site at a reduced price and turn it into a health and wellbeing centre.

NHS Property Services, which plans to sell the site, said it was obliged to get the best price.

Mental health emphasis

The 12 in-patient beds at Edward Hain closed in February 2016 due to fire safety concerns.

It was closed permanently in 2020, with health services governing body NHS Kernow saying it was no longer fit for purpose.

Community clinics still being run at the site were relocated elsewhere.

Lynn Issacs, secretary of the group, told BBC Radio Cornwall that members had "a very long list" of things they wanted to do.

She said: "That's going to cost a lot of money, but we have got a fantastic fundraising team."

She said work was under way to submit a viable business plan and they hoped to raise £900,000 towards the purchase and operating the site.

She said: "There will be a large emphasis on mental health, particularly post-Covid. There are a lot of people who are struggling.

"Anything that's connected with health and wellbeing in any way is our focus."

NHS Property Services said it was obliged to get the best price of at least market value to invest back into the health service.