St Peter's Hospital in Maldon to be subject of public meeting

Local people said there was an "amazing atmosphere" at a protest in early October about the situation at St Peter's Hospital

An MP said he would host a public meeting for residents to express their views about the planned closure of a community hospital.

The NHS has proposed permanently shutting St Peter's Hospital in Maldon and relocating beds elsewhere in Essex.

A consultation over the changes was launched on Thursday.

Maldon's MP, Sir John Whittingdale, has said he was "extremely disappointed" by the plans and urged people to respond to the consultation.

St Peter's is home to a midwife-led birthing unit, 16 stroke rehabilitation beds and outpatient services.

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

The Conservative MP said he had arranged a public meeting for 19:00 GMT on 9 February at the Plume Academy in the town.

"I would encourage all those with an interest in the future of healthcare in the district to attend and also to respond to the public consultation," said Sir John.

The NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) is hosting the consultation, due to run until 21 March.

Sir John said he was "very much aware of the strong feelings".

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Under the plans, the birthing unit beds would be moved to a unit beside Braintree Community Hospital, which is 16 miles (26km) away.

Outpatient services at St Peter's were already relocated to other hospitals last year as a temporary measure for the winter period.

The hospital, which has been in Maldon since 1873 and was previously a Victorian workhouse, could be put up for sale at £6.2m.

In its pre-consultation business case put together by the ICB, it described the building as "poor quality" and described the "challenges associate with ensuring access to high quality clinical care".

The NHS has a shortage of about 2,500 midwives.

John Whittingdale, pictured in the House of Commons, encouraged people to engage with the consultation

A spokesperson for the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said it knew St Peter's was "much loved" by local people.

"However, it's not a good environment for modern health services, and would need a lot of building work to bring it up to acceptable standards," said the spokesperson.

"That work would cost a lot of money and even if we had the money, it won't bring the site up to modern standards, and would not be good value given the extensive work needed.

"This means we need to look at alternative locations for people to receive the best quality health care. "