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Plaid Cymru campaigners are urging health chiefs and councillors to work together to open a community hospital at a long-derelict school site in Wrexham.<\/p>\n
The Groves, on Chester Road, has sat vacant since the closure of the secondary school in 2006.<\/p>\n
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Wrexham Council had earmarked the building for demolition to make way for two new schools. Those plans were halted in 2016 when the Welsh Government granted it listed status.<\/p>\n
Plaid Cymru councillors have argued redeveloping the site could help ease pressure on Wrexham Maelor Hospital by providing step-down care for patients who no longer require acute beds.<\/p>\n
They are now calling on the local authority and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to work together and redevelop the derelict site.<\/p>\n
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Marc Jones, Plaid Cymru group leader on Wrexham Council, said creating a hospital in the heart of the city centre \u201cwould bring new life to a derelict site.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Groves site has lain derelict for more than a decade and there has been a lot of speculation about what it could be used for,\u201d said Cllr Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cVarious schemes have fallen through and there\u2019s no sign of anything positive being done with this important town-centre site.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, we all recognise that the local district general hospital, the Maelor, is under huge pressures \u2013 in part this is because of a lack of community options to move people out of acute beds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Carrie Harper said a community hospital could also help reduce long waits for ambulances outside A&E and ease parking congestion at the Maelor.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously there are challenges to delivering this kind of project,\u201d said Cllr Harper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the initial cost \u2013 a similar plan for a community hospital at the old Alex site in Rhyl is estimated to cost \u00a3102 million \u2013 but this is the sort of capital investment we need to see in our communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an investment because it provides much-needed breathing space for the over-stretched Maelor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Harper also suggested working with Wrexham University, which trains nurses, paramedics and radiographers, to offer graduates guaranteed jobs at the new facility.<\/p>\n
Local ward councillor Becca Martin said the proposal could improve patient flow through the Maelor and bring life to a neglected site.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cBeing able to free up these beds by utilising the site in this way will hopefully result in a faster and smoother experience for all those needing hospital care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would also welcome the development of a site that has been left dormant and neglected for far too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Jones added that a training and educational element could meet the site\u2019s existing covenant, while integrating health and social care services.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cBetter healthcare has a beneficial knock-on effect for the council\u2019s social care commitments \u2013 these should be integrated seamlessly anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore minor injuries, rehabilitation and preventative work could be located at a new community hospital rather than trying to shoehorn all services on one limited site.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to do something that people can see will have a beneficial impact for hundreds of people who don\u2019t need to be in an acute bed and it brings a derelict building back into use.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re putting this proposal forward in the hope that both the health board and council will respond positively and look to develop the site for our mutual benefit. It\u2019s an idea that deserves to be explored further.\u201d<\/p>\n