BROMYARD residents have rallied together to hit out at the temporary closure of a ward at the town’s community hospital.

Last week Wye Valley NHS Trust announced the inpatient ward at the hospital in Linton Lane would be forced to close next month due to a staff shortage.

Although the trust has vowed to review the decision in December or earlier if it is able to recruit more staff, an online petition against the closure has already gathered more than 450 signatures while a Facebook page protesting the plans has been liked more than 800 times.

Bromyard resident and business owner Liz Armstrong said it was “absolutely vital” residents showed how important the hospital was to them.

“Of course staff shortages aren’t an ideal situation but closing such a key service is not an appropriate response by any stretch of the imagination,” she said.

“Qualified nurses have been recruited and would be starting in the coming weeks, resolving the initial safety concerns, and the recent Care Quality Commission report gave excellent feedback on the ward and its staff.”

The group is holding a public meeting to discuss their concerns tonight, Wednesday, at the Falcon Mews in Pump Street starting at 7pm.

When the closure was announced the trust’s chief executive Richard Beeken said the decision had been made to ensure no patients were put at risk.

“This is not a position we would want to find ourselves in,” he said.

“However, it is symptomatic of the staff shortage faced by NHS trusts right across the country.

“The situation is made worse in Herefordshire due to the rurality of the county which means it does not have the ‘big city’ appeal many of the bigger hospitals have.

“All NHS trusts are trying to recruit out of the same small pool of nurses - this is a national issue.

“Unfortunately, despite a number of successful recruitment campaigns, we are still short of qualified nurses.”

He added he did not believe the closure would have a dramatic impact on people in the area as the 14-bed unit is used mostly for patients recovering following treatment at Hereford County Hospital.

Among services offered by the hospital are ophthalmology diagnostic physiological measurement.

To view the petition visit change.org/p/richard-beeken-save-the-inpatients-ward-at-bromyard-community-hospital.