MALDON’S MP says health services provided at Maldon's under threat St Peter's Hospital must remain local if it is forced to close..
Sir John Whittingdale attended a meeting at Plume Academy, where he was joined by Maldon District Council leader Richard Siddall and Tracy Dowling, chief executive of the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board.
Representatives of the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust were also in attendance.
A public consultation began on January 25 looking at a major shake-up of NHS services and will conclude on March 21.
The meeting addressed potential changes to services including stroke rehabilitation and intermediate care beds and the location of the midwife-led birthing unit.
The meeting was packed beyond capacity, with hundreds of people unable to get in.
Sir John said he felt it was “very important” for people with strong opinions about St Peter’s and its future to come together.
He praised the quality of care at St Peter’s, as well as the staff’s dedication, but acknowledged the building is “old” and becoming harder to maintain.
The Conservative politician said the lack of a replacement site was something that “causes him anger”.
He said: “The outpatient services, which are used by thousands of people across the district in St Peter’s, must continue to be available to the people in Maldon and in the district.
“It isn’t just the town. I suspect there may be quite a few people here this evening from the Dengie Pensinsula.
“We know very well that the journey from the Dengie to Maldon is not a short one.
“The journey from the Dengie to anywhere outside Maldon, like Broomfield or Braintree, is just far too far.
“We must have a continuation of those services in Maldon.
“There are also questions about other facilities there, the maternity unit, stroke rehab beds.
“That is all part of the consultation of the options.”
Meanwhile, health boss Tracy Dowling said she wanted to emphasise the consultation was “genuine” and stressed a decision has not yet been made.
She said: “We don’t have a preferred choice, for example, around the stroke services and the options around the intermediate care beds.
“It is really important to us that we understand what the different implications of those choices are on people across mid and south Essex, particularly, people in Maldon given the breadth of services that have been provided and continue to be provided from St Peter’s.”
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