PEOPLE are being invited to have their say about the future of Castleberg Hospital at Giggleswick, closed in April over safety concerns..

A series of drop-in sessions are to be held throughout August and September at which residents can say how they want to be involved.

It follows problems with the power supply, heating and drainage and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust – which runs services at the hospital - was not confident the building was safe for inpatient care and for staff. The building has been secured by its owners NHS Property Services Ltd,

Before a formal consultation on the future of the hospital and its services starts, NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) wants to find out from local people what matters to them, what they need from services and the best ways of consulting them.

Working with partners, the CCG has identified some potential options for early discussion to find out if, or how, they might satisfy their health and care needs.

The options are to keep Castleberg Hospital open, to close the hospital and provide care in a different way, build or use an alternative facility. Other identified options will also be fully considered.

Following the engagement sessions, the CCG will assess all of the options against a range of criteria including patient safety and experience, clinical effectiveness, levels of care, and cost.

Dr James Thomas, clinical chair of NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG, said: “We know that people are concerned about the future of local services and are keen to know what will be available in the long-term.

“To ensure that we make the right choices, we want to understand what is important to people and why. We are encouraging people to get involved as their views will really make a difference to the options we propose as part of the formal consultation.”

People will be able to share their views in a number of ways, including an online survey or by attending one of the drop-in sessions during August and September.

Full details of how to get involved will be advertised shortly. Meanwhile people can register their interest by:

emailing engage@awcccg.nhs.uk or completing the form at: www.airedalewharfedalecravenccg.nhs.uk/castleberg-hospital/