St Peter's Hospital in Maldon set to shut in bed reshuffle

Campaigners are worried the hospital and its birthing unit will be closed permanently

A 150-year-old hospital building is set to close permanently and its services moved miles away under plans to redistribute community inpatient beds.

St Peter's Hospital in Maldon has 16 stroke rehabilitation beds, a birthing unit and an outpatient service, all of which would move elsewhere.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust's board approved a pre-consultation business case on Tuesday.

It previously said "quality of care" was at the "heart" of decision-making.

Under the plans, the birthing unit at St Peter's - which the trust says delivers about six births per month - would be relocated to a unit next to Braintree Community Hospital.

Alternative sites for the birthing unit were "limited", the report stated, but Braintree provided "a more resilient service less prone to closure due to staff shortages".

St Peter's would potentially be put up for sale at £6.2m.

The trust says the hospital's first floor has experienced a leaking roof and broken lifts in recent years

A maternity outpatient "hub" would need to be set up in Maldon for post-natal care and ultrasound scanning, the report added, although no suggestions for a new site were put forward.

Protesters said the relocation would mean expectant parents would have to drive an extra 16 miles (26km) to the birthing unit in Braintree or 15 miles (24km) to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

Two options have also been put forward for relocating 129 beds for patients in need of recuperation or "intermediate" care, and stroke rehabilitation.

The plans would see the total number of beds increased to 138 across the five remaining community hospitals, with Brentwood Community Hospital, 22 miles (35km) from Maldon, getting an extra 25 beds.

Funding a new outpatient site in Maldon - with options being "explored" - was expected to prove the biggest cost, estimated at about £3m, the report said.

St Peter's is a former Victorian workhouse believed to date back to 1873.

The first floor - where inpatient beds are located - has experienced a leaking roof, weak flooring and broken lifts in recent years.

An eight-week public consultation on the proposed changes is due to open on 25 January.