Bosses at a Shropshire health trust say “exciting times” are ahead after the re-opening of in-patient services at Bishop’s Castle hospital.

The in-patient unit opened its doors earlier last month for the first time since it was closed by a staffing crisis in 2021, following a successful nursing recruitment campaign.

Now Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (ShropCom) Chief Executive Patricia Davies says lessons learned in the successful re-opening at Bishop’s Castle can be applied elsewhere, as the trust also seeks to expand its out-patient services for south Shropshire from the site.

“It was a very proud day for us all to be able to re-open the ward to patients on 15th July,” she told a ShropCom board meeting on Thursday, August 1.

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“I want to thank again everyone at the Trust, the ward manager and wider community within Bishop’s Castle who worked tirelessly to make sure that the re-opening was as smooth as possible and in welcoming new staff so warmly.

“We are truly humbled and excited to welcome new staff to Bishop’s Castle and all our services across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Dudley. We know from those working in the community hospitals and across our community services that these staff are highly valued and integral to the quality care provided to our patients wherever they are from.

“We would like to reiterate that our organisation is proud to be inclusive and diverse and that we celebrate the skill and expertise that our community of fabulous folk bring to our organisation and therefore to our patients. ”

Efforts are now underway to attract more out-patient services to run from Bishop’s Castle, with new support groups and drop-in sessions having started earlier this summer.

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ShropCom says it’s working with the primary care network, Shropshire Council and others to deliver futher healthcare services from the site.

“The work doesn’t stop here and we look forward to building on the work that we have done not just in terms of inpatient care but wider ambulatory care and health and wellbeing services to ensure that we as a health and care system see the Bishops Castle hospital site as a thriving resource,” she added.

“This is clearly the beginning of a very exciting time for us in Bishops Castle and the wider community.

“The learning from models of care developed and approach taken can and will be transferred and adapted across our organisation, the Local Authority and the Integrated Care Board. “