Drop-in event for residents to have their say on proposals for Lutterworth's hospital

Residents can have their say on proposals for Feilding Palmer Hospital at an upcoming event.

The drop-in event will be held on Thursday (December 7) between 10am and 2pm at the Wycliffe Rooms.

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR), which oversees the hospital, says with the local population expected to grow by 40 per cent over the next ten years, there will be higher demand for hospital services.

It is now looking to replace the hospital’s ten current inpatient beds – which have been closed since the pandemic - with an outpatient department, and increase outpatient services to some 17,000 appointments a year.

There are also plans to create a ‘Lutterworth Health Campus’ on Gilmorton Road, to provide services like mental health, optometry, dentistry, GP practices and local authority services.

Residents can have their say on the proposals at the meeting, along with asking questions about the plans.

They can also get advice from local professionals about their health and wellbeing, including blood pressure checks, lifestyle advice and guidance to recognise cancer symptoms. General medication reviews are also available and the opportunity to talk about dementia care.

GP Dr Graham Johnson said: “All year round we should look after our own health and wellbeing, but particularly in the winter, as it can be seriously bad for our health. But there are several things we can do for ourselves and this event will provide lifestyle advice to help people through the winter.

“It’s also a great opportunity hear about our vision to provide high quality and modern services closer to home, and our proposals to help achieve that vision in Lutterworth.”

Locally some 2,700 homes are set to be built over the coming years, and the LLR board says creating services closer to home would save some 20,000 travel miles.

But campaigners from the Mary Guppy Group - made up of 80-year-old Mary Guppy, Bill Piper and David Fish – say the hospital needs more inpatient beds.

Visit www.haveyoursaylutterworth.co.uk to find out more or fill out a survey about the proposals before the consultation ends on January 14.