Protestors have the hump with Warwickshire County Council over hospital beds

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Protestors campaigning for inpatient beds at the Ellen Badger Hospital in Shipston-on-Stour have shown why they ‘have the hump’ with Warwickshire County Council by bringing a camel to the authority’s headquarters at Shire Hall in Warwick today (Wednesday January 22).

Earlier this month, the NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) launched a public consultation into the controversial issue of the future locations of 35 community rehabilitation beds in south Warwickshire.

Two options for the locations of the beds are being consulted on, the first being to distribute the beds across three sites - Ellen Badger Hospital in Shipston-on-Stour, Leamington Spa Hospital, and Stratford Hospital.

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The second option, and the one which both the ICB and South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) have indicated they prefer, is to provide all 35 beds at the Leamington and Stratford hospitals leaving Ellen Badger with none.

The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.
The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.

The furore over the future of services at the redeveloped Ellen Badger Hospital has rumbled on for years and campaigners who want to retain beds and integrated medical services at the site made their feelings known while the county council’s Adult Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee met at Shire Hall to discuss the options this morning.

The camel, Baxter, was brought along by Joseph's Amazing Camels, a business in Idlicote, just outside Shipston, which is supporting the campaign.

Sharon Bygate, who had attended the event to support the protestors, said her husband Andrew died at the hospital ten years ago.

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She said: “I feel really strongly about the beds coming back to Shipston.

The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.
The protestors with Baxter the camel outside Shire Hall, the headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, in Warwick this morning.

"Without the facility being close by the whole experience would have been absolutely hideous in his last days.

"The only other option at the time would have been to come to Warwick to see him every day which would have taken me 50 minutes to get there every time.

"Having three small children, it would have been even more difficult but with Ellen Badger being there the children and I could visit him as much as we wanted to.

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“But there are currently no beds at Shipston and I fear there won’t be any going forward now.”

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Warwickshire MP Manuela Perteghella has presented a petition with more than 4,000 signatures to Parliament, demanding the return of inpatient beds to the Ellen Badger Hospital.

The petition called on the House of Commons to urge the Government to support the reinstatement of inpatient beds at the hospital, ‘which has been a cornerstone of healthcare in Shipston for more than a century’.

Addressing Parliament Manuela, the Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “This petition reflects the depth of feeling of a rural community that has seen their health services stripped to the bone and is fearful for the future of their hospital.

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“Rural communities deserve the same access to healthcare as our towns and cities.

"The Coventry and Warwickshire ICB must hear this loud and clear: our rural communities must not be left behind.”

The consultation remains open until February 14, giving the public an opportunity to participate through surveys, written submissions, or by attending consultation events.

Full details of the consultation are available online at happyhealthylives.uk

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