SWANAGE Hospital will not close under the proposed Purbeck healthcare shake-up, it has been announced.

Supporters have been fighting to safeguard the town’s hospital since 2012, after its future came under the spotlight when NHS bosses announced a public consultation ahead of changes to the way it delivers local healthcare services.

Purbeck residents still have until Monday, October 20 to give their views on these proposals included in The Purbeck Healthcare Fit for the Future Project, but the closure of Swanage Hospital is not an option.

Dorset HealthCare chief executive Ron Shields confirmed Swanage Hospital will remain open at the AGM of Friends of Swanage Hospital, attended by more than 130 people.

Chairman of the Friends Jan Turnbull said: “We want the commissioners to understand how important this process has been for us, how stressful, worrying but ultimately satisfying because the end result will mean security for the staff and patients in the knowledge that our hospital is safe.”

Friends of Swanage Hospital Committee spokesman Gerry Norris described an “audible sigh of joyful relief throughout the auditorium” when the announcement was made.

Key to the current consultation for Purbeck is the number of community hospital beds to be made available.

There are currently 31 such beds in Purbeck – 15 at Swanage and 16 at Wareham.

One of the NHS Purbeck Healthcare Fit for the Future summary report conclusions is that the estimated number of community beds needed in the district will be 24.

This cut in beds is proposed to work in tandem with enhanced community teams who will support people in their own homes.

The consultation is led by NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, in partnership with Dorset County Council and Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust. Visit dorsetccg.nhs.uk to read and comment on the report.