The Future of St Peter's Hospital in Maldon
I know that many local residents will want an update on what I’m doing to oppose the proposed closure of St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon and the NHS’ plans to relocate services elsewhere.
The Public Meeting
I am very much aware of the enormous and very understandable local concern about this proposal and feel that the proposed consultation arrangements being made by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board are wholly inadequate. Therefore, in early February I organised a public meeting at the Plume Academy in conjunction with the Mayor of Maldon, to allow local residents the opportunity to express their views directly to the decision makers at the Integrated Care Board (ICB). This was attended by the Chief Executive, the Director of Medical Services and the Director of Midwifery as well as the Leader of Maldon District Council. It was vital they understood the palpable strength of feeling among my constituents and their determination to retain services at St Peter’s.
It was encouraging to see the meeting was very well attended with some 400 people attending. However, despite choosing the biggest venue available, a further 100 were unable to get in.
My position is clear that the population of the Maldon District is growing steadily and that we should be investing in new health facilities rather than cutting back on them. A new Community Hospital in Maldon has been under discussion for 20 years or more but despite coming close, it has never materialised. If St Peter’s is no longer viable then it is essential that medical services continue to be provided elsewhere in the town until a new fit-for-purpose community hospital can be built.
The Survey
Following their initial announcement of the proposals, Mid and South Essex NHS have published a consultation document which I would encourage everyone to respond to. However, this fails to ask a number of relevant questions and some of those that are asked seem to be of little relevance. I therefore decided to run my own survey in early March, to gauge the key concerns among my constituents in relation to the proposed closure. I have been given the assurance of the local NHS leaders that responses to my own survey will be taken into consideration as part of the consultation process which has now been extended from the 21st March to 4th April. As well as sending out a large number of emails seeking views, I have also arranged the distribution of some 25,000 paper survey letters.
Although the Mid and South Essex NHS proposals offer two options for the intermediate care beds and stroke rehabilitation beds at St Peter’s, neither allow their retention there and instead suggest relocation to Brentwood and Rochford. It is proposed that the midwife-led birthing unit will be based at Braintree. While the ICB have stated that outpatient services will be kept in Maldon where possible, they will seek to provide them from other locations in the town and once this has been established, St Peter’s will be permanently closed.
There is no doubt in my mind that the loss of essential medical services such as maternity, outpatients, and stroke facilities from the town will make it far harder for many members of the Maldon community to access critical healthcare services. In particular, those needing maternity, stroke rehabilitation and intermediate care services and their families will face much longer travelling times. While I welcome the assurance that outpatient services will continue at St Peter’ until alternative local provision is up and running, I believe that they need to continue to be located on a single site and recognise that many of my constituents want to see them kept at St Peter’s.
