Momentum Builds for Stuart Anderson MP's Community Hospitals Campaign

Stuart Anderson MP has welcomed momentum for his campaign to attract better support for community hospitals in South Shropshire. It follows reports that local families are travelling more than 30 miles for appointments.

Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP appeared to endorse Stuart's campaign in an interview for BBC Midlands Today on Tuesday, 19th August 2025. In the interview, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP said:

"I don't know why that community hospital isn't able to give them the care that they need. What I would say is that [the] community hospital could potentially be one of the new neighbourhood health centres. Some of the neighbourhood health centres will be new build, but a lot of them will be about repurposing assets that the NHS currently has, including, for example, community hospitals."

In the interview, the Minister said that he "did not know" the specifics of the situation. However, Stuart has said that he has written to the Department for Health and Social Care and raised the issue in Parliament on multiple occasions.

Stuart launched his campaign last year in response to a government consultation on plans for the next decade of the NHS. Stuart wrote to the Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP, calling for a meeting to discuss healthcare facilities in Ludlow.

This followed a visit earlier in the year to the Community Hospital on Gravel Hill, which he said "showed signs of significant deterioration."

Stuart has endorsed proposals for redevelopment at Ludlow Eco Park, which he said show promising signs of a solution to improve health provision in the area.

The Eco Park, owned by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (ShropComm), is one mile away from the current building and has great potential to become a fantastic local healthcare community hub for patients.

In a response to Stuart dated 27th November 2024, Health Minister Karin Smyth told Stuart that she was "unable to meet" to discuss the proposal. However, she added that:

"This Government is committed to delivering an NHS that is for the future. This means we need to see the right infrastructure in the right places to ensure patients receive the healthcare they deserve."

As part of Health Minister's Question Time Session in Parliament on 19th November 2024, Stuart told Ministers that the plan could "transform local community healthcare in this rural town."

Stuart also tabled a formal written question on 16th October 2024, which was responded to by Minister Stephen Kinnock who stated that community hospitals could benefit from a range of national programmes aimed at increasing recruitment.

In May, Stuart renewed his campaign on his return to Parliament after an extended absence due to two rounds of reconstructive surgery. In his first question, Stuart said, "Community hospitals can reduce pressure on major hospitals" in rural areas.

In July, Stuart then responded to the government's ten-year health strategy. He has said that it overlooks the potential of community hospitals to "put care on people's doorsteps", as the Prime Minister had promised to do.

Stuart has now invited Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP to meet with him to discuss the proposal in more detail. He has also renewed his call for more Community Diagnostic Hubs in South Shropshire, including on the Eco Park site.

Launched in February, Stuart said that his campaign would support earlier diagnoses of diseases like cancer. In the interview, the Ludlow Hospital League of Friends said that it would make a "huge difference for diagnostic testing" in the area.

Stuart Anderson MP said:

"I want to do all that I can to secure better investment in local health services. So, I am encouraged by the recent comments made by the Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP, setting out that Ludlow Community Hospital could become one of the new neighbourhood health centres.

"I have already raised this idea with Ministers and in Parliament on multiple occasions, following my earlier visit to the site which continues to show signs of significant deterioration. I renewed my campaign in response to the government's ten-year health strategy, which overlooked the potential of community hospitals to put care on people's doorsteps.

"I have now invited the Minister to meet with me to discuss the proposal in more person and renewed my call for more Community Diagnostic Hubs in South Shropshire to support earlier diagnoses of diseases."