South Shropshire MP Stuart Anderson has championed the Ludlow Community Hospital plan in parliament.

As part of Health and Social Care Questions in Parliament on Tuesday, November 19, Mr Anderson called on the government to improve local healthcare provision in rural counties, saying that rural areas must feature prominently in the government's plan to make the NHS more neighbourly.

He said that the proposals for a new Community Hospital in Ludlow would make it "faster, simpler, and fairer" to access local services and help to achieve better outcomes for local residents.

He added that the exciting proposal has been backed by local health campaigners, NHS officials, and GPs.

Mr Anderson then asked the Minister to meet with him to discuss a way forward for the proposal.

In a recent letter to the Health Secretary, who has promised to “rebuild the health service around what patients tell us they need", Mr Anderson endorsed the proposals for a new community hospital at Ludlow Eco Park. He said that the plans would deliver on the Health Secretary's ambition to transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service. The 10-year plan for the NHS is expected to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

"Ludlow Community Hospital is an important part of our health system in South Shropshire," said Mr Anderson. "Yet the building has continued to show signs of significant deterioration and questions have been raised about its sustainability in the longer term. While I welcome the Government's plan to make the NHS more neighbourly, I hope that rural areas like South Shropshire will feature prominently in it. So, I have asked the Minister to meet with me to discuss our proposal to redevelop the site in Ludlow with modern facilities."

Ahead of the General Election, Stuart had made enhancing public services a key part of his plan for South Shropshire and committed to working with them to meet the future healthcare needs of residents. He added that the proposals have the potential to deliver an outstanding facility for Ludlow and will continue to champion the proposals.