WESTBURY Hospital is now closed, with the last remaining service moving out last week. NHS Wiltshire say security measures are in place to secure the site until a decision on when and how they will ‘dispose’ of the land and building is made.
The majority of services had already been moved to the new White Horse Health Centre in September. The last remaining service, a dental clinic, moved out last week.
Westbury mayor, cllr Sue Ezra said, “We’re all sorry to see it close, because that is the end of an era. It was only a doctors’ surgery, and the rest had been closed for some time, but I am very sorry to see it go.”
Mike Pearce, who was secretary of the Westbury Area Health Forum before it folded earlier this year said, “The hospital was a marvellous part of the town. I think back to my parents and grandparents and everyone’s been full of praise for the hospital. Everyone knew the matron and the sisters.
“The stroke unit was the jewel of the crown, but quietly little pieces were eaten away until we were left with nothing at all.”
A statement from NHS Wiltshire says, “In line with the Department of Health guidelines, as laid out in Estatecode (NHS guidance on land and property) and the NHS Finance (Capital Accounting) Manual, there is a requirement of the Trust to dispose of land and building no longer needed for operational requirements.
“Wiltshire PCT [Primary Care Trust] will report any contract for the sale or lease of Westbury Hospital site as a matter of public record in the usual way, which is through the Register of Sealings in its public Board Meetings.”
Jenny Clements of the League of Friends, said, “I think it’s really sad when I think of the amount of money the League of Friends put in. It’s the end of an era, I know time moves on, but I would like to know what they will use it for. It would certainly be the League of Friends’ wish for it to be used for the benefit of the town in a health-related way. We will be vigilant, that’s all we can do.”
The future of the site remains a contentious issue, with some local residents maintaining that the land and hospital was gifted to the town before the NHS was even created, and that therefore it should remain under the town’s ownership.
In September the town council decided it would not fight for the town’s ownership of the hospital given the prospect of heavy legal costs.
The hospital was built in the 1920s, and local people remember making donations to help develop the facility. Over the years residents have shown their support for the hospital, with marches and petitions demonstrating against threats and cut backs.
In 2006 as former cottage hospitals were being closed, the Westbury Hospital Campaign Group fought to keep the facility open in the town. However, they were shocked when West Wiltshire Primary Care Trust hastily closed the wards, moving patients out to other hospitals on a Sunday morning without prior notice, and not informing patients’ families. Protestors from the town also joined a national protest in London against the closure of cottage hospitals.
In 2007, the primary care trust announced that it would close the hospital, but would support interest from Westbury GPs in opening a health care centre on the hospital site. Later that year, a campaign by Westbury League of Friends to keep the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) open at the hospital was unsuccessful. Closure of the MIU followed and the phased closure of other hospital services began. It was announced that the town’s new White Horse Health Centre would be built in Leigh Park, Westbury.
