Shocked to hear that ward had been closed

I WAS absolutely shocked to learn of the temporary closure of the Butterley Ward at Ripley Hospital at the Ripley Town Council meeting on November 16.

That is a terrible decision, in my opinion, which was not common knowledge.

Another shock to me and others was the fact that the Ripley Hospital League of Friends was not consulted prior to this decision being put into operation. That was an unfortunate omission because the Butterley Ward at the hospital was entirely funded by the donations from the local people to the Ripley Hospital League of Friends to the tune of well over £1,000,000.

From the beginning, the hospital was built on the donations from local people for delivering care to the local people.

It seems to be a short-sighted decision, with winter pressures coming up, to close an entire ward when there are still terminally ill people in the community who may need a bed.

My uncle died on the Butterley Ward over two years ago and the care he received was extremely good in a place where his family could be around him. It was good holistic nursing. If he had been in another hospital it would have been more difficult to get to him and he would have been distressed not to have his daughters with him.

A lot of the people that were on the Butterley Ward were older adults who have contributed to the ward through taxation and national insurance contributions used to fund staffing and donations to the Ripley Hospital League of Friends to fund the million pound-plus ward building. Their carers will be likely to be family members who would also be older and it would be unkind to expect them to travel greater distances to deliver toiletries etc. or to visit, if/when visiting was allowed, or if it was the time of their imminent death.

Please reconsider the decision to close the Butterley Ward and return the care to the people of the Ripley township and please involve the Ripley Hospital League of Friends in your future decisions around the Butterley Ward, particularly, and the Ripley Hospital in general.

Julie Webster, Ripley