Campaigners have still not given up their hope of saving Westbury Hospital.
Members of STOP – Sensible Thinking on Patients – recently visited the hospital which closed in 2012 and came away with renewed enthusiasm.
They believe the old hospital building is in better shape than they thought and would not need anywhere near the money previously thought to bring it back into use.
Whilst they accept that part of the site will go for housing, they are still hopeful that some form of health and community use can be included.
After the hospital site visit, Erica Watson, chair of STOP said, “We wanted to see for ourselves the current state of the building as we’ve been told that it’s not fit for purpose. The hospital was built with money from the community, they paid for every brick and we do not want it to be demolished.”
NHS Property who are looking to sell the site say that bringing the hospital building back into use would cost around £5million but STOP dispute this.
Cllr Gordon King, a STOP member, told White Horse News, “It’s in much better condition than we had been led to believe. The hospital has only been closed for three years and the state of deterioration is less than expected. Structurally it’s sound and there’s only water damage caused in a couple of places where the flat roof has leaked. Most other issues are cosmetic.
“Potential purchasers will be relieved to know that it would cost £2/3million (on top of the purchase price) to modernise rather than the much higher figure suggested.”
Currently there is an outline planning application on the site for around 70 dwellings and cllr King reiterated his idea to use the 30% affordable housing allocation within this to provide some form of extended intermediate care facility.
“It would provide what I would call ‘intermediate care’ where an individual’s health care needs are no longer treatable at home, but where they are no longer so severe that they need to be treated in the acute hospital.
“This would enable individuals to remain in their own homes longer, rather than occupying a bed in an acute hospital. This was the type of care that the old West Wiltshire community hospital specialised in and has never been successfully replaced.
“I have been in discussion with Wiltshire Council concerning my idea and found them to be quite supportive and warm to it, provided that I can help establish the need and help find a developer to build it or something like it.
“I know that this may be difficult to do and that my investigations may be fruitless but I am determined to give it a real good go, not least because the Westbury Hospital site was given as a gift to the community and has been continually supported by public donations to the League of Friends for more than 50 years, making a place of real importance to the people of Westbury.
“To help me do this I have set up a 12 member working group via the town council made up of councillors and community figures to trawl through the evidence and help search for a developer.
“I have recently come upon an update report on Wiltshire Council’s Older People’s Accommodation Strategy dated 6th May 2104 (I was in America at the time of this meeting) which indicated a need for a 50 bed unit in Westbury naming Selwood Housing as a likely partner.
“I will be taking this up with Wiltshire Council in the coming week.”
His proposals, he said, might also include community facilities such as a treatment room, therapy rooms (physio and occupational therapy) and perhaps games/activity/reading/room etc and maintain that link between the site and health or social care.
“NHS Property say the site is still on the market but they haven’t dismissed the chance that part could be bought for some form of care and community use – even if planning permission for housing is gained,” added cllr King. “It has left the door open.”
The STOP group was recently shown around the hospital site by Leslie Warren, facilities manager at NHS Property Service. He confirmed that the hospital is still up for sale but that they have not had any interest shown by the care industry.
He said, “A lot of the doors have metal around them, this doesn’t meet the Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards of a hospital so would have to be replaced.
“The hand rails would have to be changed, the door sizes altered, the chairs and the carpets would have to be replaced. Everything would have to be changed and brought up to the required standards and would cost around £5million.”
Erica Watson said, “Perhaps it’s because I have an untrained eye with this sort of thing, but to me it doesn’t look structurally unfit. Surely the work that is being described would have had to be done regardless of the hospital closing.
“It’s an awful shame to see such waste as well. There are desks and chairs left in the hospital that could be recycled and used elsewhere in the NHS. We are such a ‘throw it away’ society and it’s very frustrating.”
The STOP group is planning a public meeting to give an update on progress and hopefully engage the support of more people in the community.
In the meantime readers can support STOP by contacting their local councillor (you can find out who this is by contacting Westbury Town Council on 01373 822232 or info@westburytowncouncil.gov.uk and asking for their help and support). Also by writing to Wiltshire Council (Bythesea Road, Trowbridge BA14 8JN) to make them aware that the Westbury community want to work with them to keep the Westbury Hospital site for community use, rather than just for housing.
