Town's hospital to shut stroke and birthing units

NHS leaders have decided to move the majority of a 151-year-old hospital's services to elsewhere in Essex.

St Peter's Hospital in Maldon would no longer have a birthing unit or 16 stroke rehabilitation beds.

Outpatient services and ambulatory care were due to remain at the site until 2030, when they would be replaced by a new health hub.

The NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) claimed the building was "dilapidated", but campaigners said closing it would have been a "disgrace".

Closure plans were paused in September due to widespread backlash from the community.

But on Thursday, the ICB decided to press ahead with ending most care provided at the hospital.

Under the new arrangement, it agreed to:

• Offer 25 stroke rehabilitation beds at Brentwood Community Hospital and 22 at the Cumberlege Intermediate Care Centre in Rochford
• Make 25 intermediate care beds available in Brentwood
• Permanently close the stroke rehabilitation unit at St Peter's Hospital
• Relocate the midwife-led birthing unit 16 miles (25km) away to Braintree Community Hospital
• Keep outpatient services and ambulatory care at St Peter's Hospital for five years while the new health hub was built

It came as the ICB branded the hospital building "high-risk and unsuitable for long-term clinical care", citing flooding and unreliable lifts.

Tom Abell, the chief executive of NHS Mid and South Essex, said he "listened carefully" to all feedback.

"The decisions reached today reflect our ambition to improve health services for everyone who lives in mid and south Essex," he said.

Mr Abell vowed to work closely with staff and the community to achieve "the best possible outcomes for patients".

When the BBC was allowed inside the hospital in 2024, cracks could be seen in the walls and water damage was visible.

Making the facility fit for purpose was estimated to cost £18.7m - a price the ICB said was "more money than is available".

It said a future health hub or replacement for the hospital must be opened within five years.

About 500 people a year in mid and south Essex need to stay in hospital for specialist stroke rehabilitation.

St Peter's saw about 300 patients a day with more than 80,000 appointments a year, according to the NHS.

Blood tests, X-rays, dermatology, maternity and orthopaedics were among the services provided at the hospital.

Freya Beckett, who campaigned to keep the building open, said keeping some services was good news.

"I'm very, very pleased with the outcome," she said.

"Not everyone's going to be happy, but what we've got is certainly a lot more than we would've if we didn't take part in the campaign."

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