Fears for the future of hospital units in Shipston and Stratford

The futures of Shipston’s Ellen Badger First Aid Centre and Stratford’s Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) appear uncertain amid news that both will remain closed while the battle against coronavirus continues.

A joint statement from the South Warwickshire CCG and the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) confirmed the continued closures last week, but the long term-future beyond the pandemic also appears up in the air too.

During a meeting of Warwickshire County Council’s Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee last week, representatives from the CCG revealed their intention to develop a business case examining the futures of both units.

A spokesperson for the South Warwickshire CCG clarified that closure of the units could be an option, but the organisation would not know what all the options where until it had consulted with local people.

Neither the Ellen Badger First Aid Centre nor the Stratford MIU have been open during the pandemic, as staff were re-deployed elsewhere.

A report accompanying yesterday’s (Wednesday) meeting detailed how attendances at the Ellen Badger Centre had decreased by around 35 per cent year on year over recent years, seeing just 1 patient every two-and-a-half days in 2019.

It stated that attendances at Stratford’s Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) have also fallen by around 8 per cent year on year, seeing just under 23 patients per day in 2019.

A redesign of healthcare services outlined in 2019 detailed how all minor injuries units and walk in centres should become Urgent Treatment Centres, meeting a number of criteria.

The report says that the MIU at Stratford currently does not meet those criteria.

At no point in the report does it say the plan is to close either the Stratford MIU or the First Aid Centre at the Ellen Badger, but given the issues highlighted with the current setup, there are fears this is a realistic possibility.

During last week's meeting Cllr Clive Richards said: “I’m really concerned about the making out of a full business case. My question is why now, because a full business case usually presages something pretty serious in terms of change and I have to air the suspicion that there is in the Shipston area that this presages an intention to close (the Ellen Badger First Aid Centre).”

Addressing the concerns Anna Hargraves, chief transformation officer at the South Warwickshire CCG said: “We use the full business case as a well thought out document that looks at our options and appraises them, there are potentially multiple options that we do need to consider.”

She added that no pre-determined decision had been made, while Sophie Gilkes, Director of Development at SWFT, drew attention to significant forthcoming investment into the Ellen Badger site, including plans for a new localities hub and wellbeing centre, designed to keep people well in the community.

A statement from the SWFT added: “To ensure health services in south Warwickshire can meet the needs of our population, consideration is being given to how we use best use the Minor Injuries Unit at Stratford Hospital and the First Aid Centre at Ellen Badger Hospital in the future. This work is in its very early stages and we do not know what all potential options are until we have listened to the views of local people. Only after we have fully engaged with our local population will a decision be made.”

Shelagh Saunders, mayor of Shipston, said: “I suppose all this depends on what they are actually going to include in Shipston’s new wellbeing hub, I would have thought a first aid facility could be incorporated in that. What I would say is I am very concerned about any plan to lose services in Shipston, given there have been service cuts across the county and cross-boarder already, and we should do everything we can to hold onto those services for as long as we can. The First Aid Centre used to be a minor injuries unit, so they have already downgraded it. By making it less useful that is bound to have had an impact on the number of people attending.”

The Ellen Badger Hospital used to house a fully-fledged minor injuries unit until around three years ago when it was downgraded to a first aid centre.

Professor Bryan Stoten, chair of the League of Friends at the Ellen Badger Hospital, said: “I’m very surprised to hear that the First Aid Centre at the Ellen Badger is used so little when the Minor Injuries Unit at Moreton-in-Marsh is used by around 40 people per week. We surveyed the public in Shipston and the overwhelming majority of people wanted to see the Minor Injuries Unit come back.

“When the development at the Ellen Badger is complete we will have all the doctors and clinicians there and I don’t see why the hospital wouldn’t be in a position to offer a first aid service or even a full minor injuries unit.

“At the League of Friends we are the in the business of bringing services into Shipston, not seeing them taken away.”