Health meeting shows money is needed

OVER two years ago in March 2016 the West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) took a decision to improve health services in Hinckley and Bosworth by closing Hinckley cottage hospital on Mount Road and building a new replacement unit at Sunnyside on Ashby road at a cost of £7million.

A bid for this was submitted to NHS England and the CCG were hoping for approval by the autumn of 2016.

They would then take the proposal to public consultation.

At the time this was proposed there was a lot of local opposition led by the Save Hinckley Hospital group and supported by local politicians.

In the intervening 2 ½ years the opposition to closing the hospital has faded away and the CCG has failed to get the £7million they need.

The plan to spend all this money at Sunnyside means the CCG have not spent money on the Mount Road Hospital, which is continuing to deteriorate. Despite this it still provides a first rate service and I would recommend it to any- one.

However, as a CCG spokesperson pointed out at a meeting in Sketchley Grange last Monday, November the 26th if the funding is not forthcoming soon they may have to close the hospital on grounds of patient safety.

Our hospital will then close with no consultation and no local replacement of services.

People in Hinckley will then be forced to travel to Leicester or other locations in the county.

The main purpose of the Sketchley Grange meeting last Monday was for the CCG to explain to people in Hinckley how they are going to improve health services by scaling down the General Hospital and sell off 2/3rds of the site for housing.

I wish the CCG more luck with this than they have had in improving health services in Hinckley by proposing to close down Mount Road Hospital. Rod Parker Hinckley