Shipley Hospital: Plan to close Yorkshire hospital returns after first being mooted in 2019

Plans to close Shipley Hospital, currently used for physiotherapy services, were first announced in 2019. But the Covid-19 pandemic led to a pause in the controversial closure of the 100-year-old health facility. However, a new report argues the facility should still be closed, and a consultation on the plans is expected to begin in the New Year.

If the closure does go ahead, the services provided at Shipley Hospital would be transferred to other centres, with the community physiotherapy team likely moved to Westbourne Green in Manningham. Shipley MP Philip Davies said any services from the hospital should be provided in a “local, convenient location” for the town.

The Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership will discuss the planned closure with Councillors at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee on Thursday. Members will be told that an independent review into the hospital’s future suggests that the closure plans proposed three years ago are still required.

The building on Kirkgate is a converted house, first built over a century ago. The Trust says the building is now unsuitable for modern health services, adding: “It is evident that a major refurbishment would be very expensive, therefore not providing value for money for the taxpayer.”

The 2019 proposal would have seen the facility shut, services moved to other health centres, and the building sold.

The report going before Thursday’s meeting says: “The previous involvement activities had to be paused in March 2020 as our health and care system responded to Covid-19.”

It suggests a public consultation in the plans begins after Christmas, adding: “The consultation will focus on the move of physiotherapy services provided by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that are delivered from the Shipley Hospital site. The consultation is asking people which site the service should be delivered from in the future as Shipley Hospital is no longer a viable option due to the age and condition of the building.

“Physiotherapy services are the final services now delivered from Shipley Hospital. The age and structure of the building mean it is not possible to improve the standard to that of a modern, purpose-built, health facility.”

Shipley MP Philip Davies said: “My main priority is to ensure that services provided at Shipley Hospital continue to be provided in a local convenient location for my constituents. It would be unacceptable for the services to be removed from Shipley hospital and relocated further away where it would be difficult for my constituents to access them.”

The committee meets in City Hall at 4.30pm on Thursday (Dec 15).