FRESH concerns have been raised over the future of Halstead Hospital.

The League of Friends of Halstead Hospital has voiced fears over the future of the medical facility.

It comes after the hospital ward was closed at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, when its facilities were transferred to Braintree Community Hospital.

In March this year, the group says Provide, which runs the hospital, introduced ‘virtual wards’.

Instead of spending time in Halstead Hospital, patients were sent straight home from the secondary care hospital.

Hospital staff were offered a chance to look after patients at home but the group says it meant some Halstead-based staff were forced to travel as far as Chelmsford and Maldon.

As a result, the League of Friends claim “a lot of the staff resigned or retired and those that did take up the offer have found it arduous and challenging”.

In a letter to the Gazette, the group said: “The role of Halstead Hospital ward now is very uncertain for the future.”

They claim there are three possible outcomes, including closing the hospital all together.

I appreciate there has been uncertainty as a result and we are beginning to explore how we balance the continued impact of Covid-19 with how we deliver wider community bed-based services - Dan Doherty, Mid and South Essex CCG

They said: “It could return to being an intermediate community care hospital.

“It could become a stroke unit for Mid and South Essex as there are excellent facilities for treating stroke patients in Halstead Hospital.

“However, there is already a stroke facility at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon, and Halstead is a distance from Mid and South Essex.

“The third possibility is that the hospital could close.”

The group says ongoing reviews and discussions are being held by health authorities

The League of Friends added: “Provide have agreed to keep the League of Friends informed of when these meetings will be held and we have regular contact with senior managers in Provide and the Mid Essex CCG.

“At our October AGM one of the Provide directors attended and laid out the present situation and uncertainties.

“The good news is that the rehabilitation centre and outpatients will continue unchanged.

“It is the ward block we are concerned about.

“We wish to make the people of Halstead aware of the situation.

“It is thanks to the many donations and legacies we have received over the years that has allowed us to make Halstead Hospital such an excellent facility and it would be a travesty to lose it.

“We will campaign hard to try and keep these excellent facilities going which have been financed by the people of Halstead, owned by the League of Friends and lent free to the NHS.

“We do need all the support we can get from local people and dignitaries.

“Please get involved and help save our hospital.”

Dan Doherty, of Mid and South Essex CCG, said: "Halstead Hospital is an important part of the local NHS and we want to make sure it is put to the best possible use.

"The temporary changes to local community wards in 2020 were a direct response to the first wave of Covid and continue to support the efforts to manage the impact of the pandemic – for far longer than we would have anticipated at the time.

"I appreciate there has been uncertainty as a result and we are beginning to explore how we balance the continued impact of Covid-19 with how we deliver wider community bed-based services.

Stephanie Dawe, group chief nurse and chief operating officer for Provide, said: "I have been speaking with the Halstead Hospital League of Friends to hear their concerns about the hospital's future.

"Involving residents in the future of community care is and will continue to be an essential part of our planning."