Proposal to save hospital fails to win over council (From Free Press Series)

Proposal to save hospital fails to win over council

A PROPOSAL to save Monmouth General Hospital from closure has failed to win the backing of Monmouth Town Council.

Two councillors, Gary Witcombe and John Fletcher, put forward plans to convert the hospital into a hospice or a maternity unit when it closes when its current facilities are transferred to the new Monnow Court Health Complex.

The councillors told members of what they believed as the advantages of keeping the facility open following the recent presentation of 1,000-name petition that was submitted to the Welsh Assembly.

Cllr Witcombe said: "A petition with a 1,000 names on it must say something about the wishes of local people for the future of the building - a building that was gifted to the town and cannot be sold."

Cllr Fletcher, who put the motion forward at the meeting, said: "The hospital building would make an ideal replacement for an old people's hospice - something the town has not seen for 11 years."

Cllr Sue Chivers said: "I would dearly love to see the hospital kept in the traditional way. But to keep pace with modern medicine we need the facility at Monnow Court to open and its success depends on the sale of Monmouth Hospital."

Former nurse, Cllr Ann Ware said: "To keep the old hospital operating as a medical unit of any description would require a huge investment to maintain it to a level that is expected today."

Monmouth's mayor Cllr Anthea Dewhurst said: "I agree that a lot of people are attached to the hospital, but the building is 100 years old and doesn't lend itself to being a hospital in the 21st century."