Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust has apologised for not consulting with the public before deciding to close a Bishop's Castle Hospital ward.

It follows court proceedings against the Trust made by Bishop’s Castle resident Nick Mitchinson were not contested.

Mr Mitchinson said: “The Trust – Shropcom - apparently took a decision to close our local hospital behind closed doors, in a private Board meeting on October 7 last year. They closed outpatient services and started moving patients out, and by the end of October, everything was gone.

"They said it was about safety but they didn’t provide evidence of that. And they didn’t work with local people to try and find an alternative to closure.

"I’m really glad the Trust has admitted they’ve acted unlawfully, and that they’ve now re-opened physiotherapy and diabetic eye screening – but what a shame we had to go to these lengths when the Trust could have just worked with the local community in the first place.”

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust said it will help plan community engagement events about the hospital's future.

Patricia Davies, Chief Executive, said: “Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust has decided not to contest a judicial review brought by a local resident, into the closure of the inpatient beds at Bishop’s Castle Hospital, in October 2021. The decision to close the ward was made because of significant patient and staff safety concerns. However, we recognise that there should have been service user involvement before the decision was made and apologise that this was not done.

“Since the closure, we have been in communication with many key users and interested parties. We are absolutely committed to engaging and involving our communities to help us consider the future provision of services at Bishop’s Castle Hospital. To that end, we have been meeting with key stakeholders in the community to help plan a series of wider community engagement events to assist in the development of service options.”