'No plans to shut Christchurch hospital' (From Bournemouth Echo)

'No plans to shut Christchurch hospital'

9:30am Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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HOSPITAL chiefs moved to reassure anxious Christchurch residents and community leaders about the future of Christchurch hospital at a meeting on Monday night.

Chief executive of Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust, Tony Spotswood, and medical director Dr Mary Armit-age, chaired a public meeting at Christchurch council on their latest consultation document.

The annual plan while outlining proposals for the whole hospital over the next year also provides details of how Christchurch hospital might be utilised.

A 6,000-name petition set up by resident Sue Ellis was handed to Mr Spotswood to demonstrate the strength of support for the threatened hospital from the local community.

She told the packed meeting, which included many borough and county councillors and Christchurch MP Chris Chope, that the hefty stack of signatures had been compiled in just three weeks.

“Please do not underestimate the strength of feeling. People just came up to us in Sainsbury’s on Friday when we were there with the petition and wanted to sign because it is important to them”, she said.

“They are very concerned that their hospital will just be left half empty and then closed because it isn’t possible to run a half empty site.”

Other concerns focused upon how the site would be used, the multi-million pound savings that needed to be made, the parking situation at Bournemouth Hospital as well as the position of Dorset Primary Care Trust in supporting the outlined proposals.

Mr Spotswood issued a very clear message to residents that plans for the hospital did not include closure.

After investing £1 million in the facility over the past two years, he said this should give an indication of their commitment to the site.

He added: “There are no plans to close Christchurch hospital. That is not our intention. What we are trying to do is look at what to do with the site going forward.

“It is really important that we are looking at how we use the site positively.”

The consultation ends on April 23.