THE chairman of the League of Friends of St Leonards Hospital was furious that members only learned about the closure plans via Facebook.

Yesterday it was revealed that Alderney, St Leonards and Westhaven hospitals, in Poole, Ferndown and Weymouth respectively, have been recommended for closure by NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The group said the three sites were less accessible than other community hospitals and would require greater investment to upgrade.

The proposals would see cash made through the move go towards the estimated £20 million cost of improving the rest of the county's community health services.

The Friends have raised more than £1milion to support the hospital in recent times but were not told of proposals to close it.

She told the Daily Echo: “I’m absolutely disgusted that nobody has bothered to inform the friends that this is the intention after all the money we’ve put into St Leonards and all the money we still have.

“We unblock the beds in Bournemouth. It’s also cheaper for them to put a patient in St Leonards than keep them in Bournemouth hospital. “

She said the wards at St Leonards were full and had been for the last few months. “So why are they even considering closing them?” she asked.

“The League of Friends have been there since the 1980s. They’ve worked tirelessly, they’ve raised over £1million in the last few years for that hospital. We’ve bought equipment, we’ve just put in a new bathroom. We’ve put in new furniture, we’ve put in new equipment like wheelchairs and footstools.”

She said closure would be unfair on the dedicated nursing staff.

“There’s nothing wrong with St Leonards. It’s not as if these are old wards. We won’t accept that it costs more money to upgrade it then it does to close it.

“We’ve got people in Bournemouth bed-blocking. If you take out St Leonards and the other community hospitals, what’s going to happen to all the people in those beds in Bournemouth and Poole?

“You’ve got people sitting in A&E that can’t get a bed.

“We will come out fighting on this.”