A LUDLOW GP has said that doctors in the town are united in their concerns about the future of health services.

Dr Catharine Beanland, a GP at Portcullis Surgery, said that whilst doctors in the town had a combined 150 years of experience they had not been properly consulted about the future of local health services.

She was one of the speakers at a public meeting held at Ludlow Methodist Church about the future of Ludlow Hospital and local health services.

Dr Beanland said that so far much of the debate about health services had been dominated by the question as to whether Shrewsbury or Telford should be the place for Accident and Emergency Services.

“The bottom line is that there is no money,” said Dr Beanland, who called for more real debate about the health needs of local communities.

According to Dr Beanland there has been a bias towards Shrewsbury and some figures used by NHS chiefs to support recommendations that went against Ludlow have been inaccurate.

Dr Beanland said a move that would see elderly patients put in nursing homes not hospitals because the cost of care is less is likely to prove counterproductive as it is likely that they will spend more time away from home.

“Nursing homes cherry pick patients,” said Dr Beanland.

“If Ludlow Hospital closes, where will elderly people with complex health needs go?

“They will end up back in Shrewsbury Hospital. This is false economy and this lack of vision must be stopped.”

The GP said that Doctors tend to be very cautious but the level of concern about the future of health services in and around Ludlow had caused them to speak out.

Dr Caron Morton from Station Drive surgery also spoke up at the meeting and said that the doctors in the town are not being listened to.She expressed particular concern about the closure of the Maternity Unit .