Residents to be 'engaged' on Bishop's Castle Hospital future

Bishop's Castle Community Hospital was temporarily closed from 1 November

Residents are to be engaged in discussions on how to "build and restore" healthcare services following a hospital's closure.

Bishop's Castle Community Hospital in Shropshire was shut on 1 November.

A lack of staff was cited for the move which was described as temporary.

In a report to Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, CEO Patricia Davies said the site risked patient harm by staying open.

The community would be involved in developing future plans, she said.

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust's board will meet on Thursday

The report is included in papers to be discussed by the trust's board on Thursday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In the documents, Ms Davies said the closure happened too quickly for a "full and thorough options appraisal" to be prepared, or for public consultation to take place, but the community would be "fully engaged" with decisions.

She added the trust was now "exploring how it can build and restore services in a safe way, that meets the needs of the community locally and across South Shropshire in the most clinically sustainable way".

The trust would be engaging with the community and partners through its Local Care Transformation Programme to begin during the winter, with options to be published for analysis in the spring, Ms Davies said.

During the closure, according to the report, hospital staff had been working alongside local GPs to allow the trust to care for more people at home.