Re-open cottage hospital to relieve A&E pressure says campaigner

* The closed down cottage hospital.

A LLANGOLLEN campaigner has sent out a plea to health chiefs to re-open the town’s cottage hospital to help relieve growing pressure on A&E services in Wrexham.

Martin Crumpton, who led local opposition to the axing of the 137-year-old community hospital in Abbey Road almost two years ago, has written to Dr Peter Higson, Chair of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health board, calling for the facility which now lies boarded up and derelict, to be allowed to open its doors again.

 

In his letter, Mr Crumpton says: “Please announce that you’re going to reopen the cottage hospitals whose closures, albeit not the sole cause of the pressure on beds and directly on A&E, precipitated this crisis.

 

“Everyone in Wales is angry and none more so than in towns like Llangollen whose cottage hospital with its precious beds was so foolishly closed and with a demonstration of extreme incompetence in our case.

 

“Eleven ambulances queued at Wrexham Maelor A&E is not a record – I’ve previously counted 16 on my way from a routine appointment – but now this is happening consistently and regularly.

 

“Increasing throughput by discharging patients prematurely and are borderline unsafe discharges in many instances will not be tolerated any longer.”

 

Mr Crumpton adds: “We are particularly hard-hit by your board’s decision to move our GPs to a vehicle-only, out-of-town location and now our access to the Maelor admissions is almost impossible. 

“Please respond with a statement I can give to the people of Llangollen to explain why there is little or no primary health care in North East Wales and exactly how, and within what timescale, you intend to restore it.”

 

A planning application was submitted last year for the Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd housing association to build six new homes on the site of the cottage hospital plus a further six on the car park opposite. This is believed to be still pending.