Time running out to save SWF's nearest hospital

The South Woodham Ferrers Residents Party is calling for South Woodham’s nearest hospital to be saved from imminent closure.

Under shock proposals made by Mid and South Essex NHS last month, St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon will soon close with services such as maternity care and outpatients relocated to Braintree, Rochford and Brentwood.

Vital services such as ophthalmology, physiotherapy, respiratory medicine, urology and stroke facilities would also take residents of South Woodham at least twice as long to reach under the plans with those without a car facing day long journeys by public transport to receive many standard primary care services.

And with reported 3 ½ week waits for blood tests at Broomfield Hospital currently there is also the fear that residents of South Woodham Ferrers will have to wait even longer for simple tests and procedures as other hospitals and health centres are put under more strain from a growing population, despite assurances from the Trust that patient’s experiences will be better.

The SWFRP is urging residents to fill in NHS Mid and South Essex’s consultation survey which closes on 21 March.

The district’s MP, John Whittingdale is also running his own survey.

South Woodham Ferrers Residents Party Chair, Keith Bentley, said: “Our residents rely on St Peter’s Hospital to provide vital health services such as stroke treatment and maternity care and it is unthinkable that it is now earmarked for closure.

“Healthcare services in and around South Woodham are already over-subscribed and the proposed alternatives are too far for people to reach easily.

"We all need the St Peter's Hospital site rebuilt as a state-of-the-art hospital, as promised for many years, so that it serves all our residents and we urge everyone to participate in the consultation to let both the Government and the NHS Trust know how much local healthcare is needed."