Bishop's Castle Community Hospital
Bishop's Castle Update November
Following the Board's decision to renew recruitment efforts to staff beds to enable it to recommence an inpatient service at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital, several recruitment events have been organised.
Friday 13th October ‘23
Saturday 25th November ‘23
Friday 12th January ‘24
Saturday 24th February ‘24
These are drop-in sessions between 10 -2, where interviews can take place on the day. You can read more about where we are with recruitment here Shropshire Community Health Trust holds a series of Recruitment Events at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital. (shropscommunityhealth.nhs.uk)
Bishop's Castle Virtual Public Meeting
Virtual online meeting to discuss the temporary closure of the inpatient beds at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital is taking place on:
Tuesday 15th August 7:00pm-8:30pm
via Microsoft Teams
To book to attend and receive the link to the online meeting please visit Eventbrite
Update to clarify board meeting arrangements
To discuss and make a decision on the inpatient beds contract at Bishop’s Castle
We know the decision on whether we can sustain ShropCom’s delivery of the inpatient bed unit contract at Bishop’s Castle is of great interest to local people. The reason it is under discussion is because over the past 18 months we have not been able to recruit enough registered nurses to work at the unit to safely staff it. To be clear, it is just the inpatient beds contract that is under discussion, not the broader services we provide at Bishop’s Castle.
You may be aware that on 19 July 2023, we announced an extension to the engagement process the Trust has been running since 12th June to gather views to inform our decision-making on whether we can sustain the current Bishop’s Castle inpatient beds contract. We extended the engagement period by 4 weeks, to finish on 14th August 2023.
The reason for the extension was in direct response to the conversations we have had, and the listening we have been doing, over the last couple of months on this issue. We have heard very clearly that local people are not satisfied that we have done all we can over the past 18 months to recruit enough registered nurses to safely staff our Bishop’s Castle inpatient bed service. As a Trust, we believe we have made significant and exhaustive efforts to recruit and are as disappointed as others that these attempts have not born fruit. However, in response to the challenge from local people, we decided to commission an external review of the recruitment process we have followed.
This review is focused on two aspects:
- An assessment of the Trust’s recruitment efforts and activity over the last 18-month period – whether any more could have been done or could still be done - and to help us determine if all routes and activity have been exhausted
- An assessment of the labour market for registered nurses to work in the Bishop’s Castle area, and any additional, workable advice for recruiting to this service that we haven’t already examined and explored.
As time will be needed for this review to take place and report back to the Board, we believe it makes sense to extend the engagement period to cover the same timeframe, and therefore extended the engagement period by four weeks.
As we previously communicated, the Board would like this recruitment review information to be available and considered as part of its decision on the inpatient bed contract at Bishop’s Castle. We have therefore decided to defer the discussion and decision on the contract to a meeting on 7 September 2023. Whilst the September meeting would ordinarily be a private board seminar session, we will hold a session on this agenda item in public on 7 September to discuss the Bishop’s Castle report and for the board to make its decision on the contract. This will allow staff and members of the public to attend and observe if they wish. The meeting is planned to take place in Bishop’s Castle and the time and venue will be confirmed shortly.
Our scheduled Board meeting on 3 August 2023, will be held in Shrewsbury Football club and the agenda and papers for this meeting will be published as per the usual route, via the Trust's Board meetings and papers page. The Bishop’s Castle inpatient bed contract will not be an item on the agenda for the August meeting.
Please note that all our Board meetings are meetings held in public where members of the public can attend to observe a formal meeting. However, we need to be clear that this is not the same as a public meeting, and observers are not permitted to join in the discussion. Further information on this can be found in the guidance for attending meetings in public.
A letter from Patricia Davies Chief Executive
Dear all,
The Trust has been pleased with the level of response and engagement from the public on the issue of the Bishop’s Castle inpatient service and would like to thank those that have given their time to share their views. The Board recognises that it has a difficult decision to make and that there is an enormous strength of feeling amongst the local community. It has therefore been committed to making sure that staff, patients, carers and the wider public and stakeholders are involved in the decision being made and have had every reasonable opportunity to provide their views. We have adapted and the extended the engagement process where possible to ensure this is the case.
Through the suggestions and questions raised through various forums and communications, including the recent public meetings held so far, it is clear that the public feel that the Trust should further explore the recruitment opportunities for the area. We would not wish to delay making an important decision simply to repeat the same attempts already made over the last 18 months as there is no reason to expect these would yield any different result. Therefore, in listening the concerns raised, the Board decided to commission an independent recruitment report with the aim of providing two key assessments; firstly of the Trust’s recruitment attempts to date and whether these have been sufficient and secondly of the labour market we are seeking to recruit from and whether there is anything different we could explore.
In light of this additional work, we will not be in a position to make a decision at the Public Board Meeting on 3rd August as the Board would like this information available to be considered as part of their decision. Accordingly, the agenda item planned for the decision on the Bishop’s Castle Inpatient Service is being deferred to the meeting on 7th September. Whilst the September meeting would ordinarily be a Private Board Meeting, the Trust is going to hold a session in public to discuss the Bishop’s Castle Report and make it’s decision to enable staff and members of the public to attend and observe if they wish. The meeting is planned to take place in Bishop’s Castle and the time and venue will be confirmed shortly.
Whilst we understand there may be disappointment that the decision is being delayed, we hope this demonstrates the seriousness with which the Board is taking its duty to ensure that any decision is based on the fullest and most thorough information possible and that if there are further options to successfully recruit that these will be explored.
Patricia Davies
Chief Executive
Shropshire Community Health Trust
CE Letter to Tony MacCarthy 27 July 2023
Bishop's Castle FAQs
Please read the Bishop's Castle FAQs.
Engagement and survey
Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital Survey
We, at the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust take great pride in our service, not just to our patients but also local residents, staff and other stakeholders. We have experienced well publicised issues with recruiting and retaining staff at Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital and despite our best endeavours over the last 18 months, we remain unable to safely staff the inpatient service. In light of this we have a difficult decision to make regarding the ongoing contract for inpatient services and are keen to gain feedback from you about your reactions and views regarding the inpatient service we provide the local community. This feedback will enable us to consider all views and opinions before making a decision on whether to withdraw from the contract or not, further, it will act as a launch pad for our work with NHS Shropshire Telford and Wrekin to generate our future plans.
In order to enable us to gain your feedback, we have commissioned the services of a Public Health specialist market research company, The Murray Consultancy Ltd. The reason for appointing a consultancy is to ensure we obtain a totally independent insight into your thoughts on the subject matter.
Please complete the survey by visiting this ink.
By clicking on the above link, you are agreeing to take part and will have access to a questionnaire which you will be able to complete online. It will only take you a couple of minutes. All responses to the questionnaire from you and other residents will be grouped together to form an overall picture. Because the questionnaire is completely anonymous, we would like you to be as open and honest as possible.
If you would like to receive a paper version of the survey by post, with a pre paid envelope please contact our PALS Team to organise this via telephone 0800 032 1107. PALS team are also available to offer support or advice to anyone that needs help in completing the survey.
To read the data protection statement which explains how we will use and manage your feedback and the information you provide read the Privacy notice for Patients and Service Users.
Please visit our Bishops Castle Community Hospital page for further updates
We look forward to your participation in this engagement process, the collective results of which will be of great benefit to us as we work with staff, the local community and stakeholders to plan for the future. We would appreciate your completion by week-ending 14th July 2023.
Update June
- The engagement period has been extended by two weeks to 17 July
- Face to face engagement in Bishop’s Castle will commence 13 June and 15 June 10am-5pm – this will consist of researchers based in the town centre.
- Three focus groups made up of the public are being recruited with membership designed to be reflective of the local community
- A staff focus group is being arranged
- Public meetings are being arranged for Monday 3rd July - 6.30pm- 8:30 pm and Wednesday 5th July - 5pm - 7pm at Bishop’s Castle Community College Hall, these meetings will be chaired by an Independent Chair
- Virtual public meeting to be held on Tuesday 15th August 7:00pm - 8:30pm via MS Teams, registrations are through Eventbrite
- A paper version of the survey is available by post, with a pre paid envelope. Please contact our PALS Team to organise this via telephone 0800 032 1107. Our PALS team are also available to offer support or advice to anyone that needs help in completing the survey.
Open letter from Patricia Davies, Chief Executive of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
I thought it would be helpful if I responded to some of the recent coverage about the inpatient community hospital beds at Bishops Castle Hospital. (Shropshire Star, Saturday 27th May 2023)
Firstly, I’d like to thank our staff for their ongoing dedication, and I appreciate it’s a difficult time for them. I wanted our staff to hear the news from us first as I believe that is the right and proper thing to do. Our staff want to work on the ward at Bishops Castle Hospital and are rightly disappointed about the news. They have been a credit to the Trust and we must do what we can to support them. We managed to brief them last week and so now we move into a period where we must explain our views and answer questions from patients and the public.
Importantly this is not about closing Bishops Castle Hospital and those who have suggested that are wrong. There are and will continue to be important services provided to the community by our staff and other NHS staff from the hospital. I do accept the important role these services play in providing good access locally.
However, this process is about the 16 inpatient community hospital beds that have been temporarily closed since October 2021. Having tried to recruit and attract staff to these jobs we have concluded there is no reasonable prospect, at present, of the Trust being able to safely re-open the inpatient community hospital beds at Bishop’s Castle Hospital.
Caring for patients without the right safe staffing levels is not right for the patients or for the staff expected to work in these circumstances. Recruitment has been a problem for several years, and despite considerable time and efforts, we have been unable to secure the right level of staff to deliver safe, high-quality care. This is a national, regional, and of course a local issue.
Therefore, and with regret, we have notified NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (STW), the organisation responsible for commissioning local health services, of the current position. We will now commence a period of engagement with our staff and the public on the current position, and the decision we must take as to whether or not to relinquish the contract with NHS STW to provide the community hospital beds at Bishop’s Castle Hospital.
To be clear - it will then be for NHS STW to decide what to do next.
For avoidance of doubt, this is not formal public consultation - nor is it about closing the hospital. It is a process of engagement about our conclusion as the people currently responsible for the community hospital beds, that we can see no realistic prospect of safely re-opening the beds.
Over the next week or so our Trust Website will contain more information on the engagement process. We will also publish information on the work we have done over the last period to try and recruit and how the community hospital beds have been used in the past.
Our website will include a link to a questionnaire that will be available online for people to respond. We will be helping people who don’t have internet access and holding some focus groups. This will be conducted by independent market researchers.
In addition to the meeting local councillors have arranged at short notice we are organising two public meetings at the end of June. Dates and times will be published shortly.
I realise that this is a difficult time for our staff and the community of Bishops Castle and surrounding areas. We look forward to hearing your views and suggestions.
Patricia Davies, Chief Executive of Shropshire Community Health Trust
Update on Bishop’s Castle Community Hospital
After careful consideration of a number of factors, including establishing safe staffing and operational deliverability, a conclusion has been reached that at present there is no realistic prospect of the Bishop's Castle Community Hospital inpatient beds being reopened by Shropshire Community Health Trust (ShropCom).
Recruitment of staff has been a problem for several years. And despite considerable time and effort, ShropCom have been unable to secure the right level and skill mix of substantive staff to deliver safe and high-quality care to patients.
The Trust will now enter a period of engagement with patients, carers, members of the public, and stakeholders that will continue until early July. Following this, all opinions and views will be collated and presented to the Trust Board for a decision on whether to give notice on the contract. This decision will be related solely to the inpatient service and all other services will remain.
If the Trust does withdraw from the contract, ShropCom will continue to work with NHS Shropshire Telford and Wrekin (NHS STW) to engage and involve the public in the co-design of any proposals for future models of care. This initial engagement has already begun through the Big Health and Wellbeing Conversation run by NHS STW and will continue over the coming months.
Further details of the engagement events and activity will be updated on this webpage.