The leader of a move to save Leatherhead Community Hospital said he is ‘delighted and relieved’ a major review recommended to keep it open.

Your Local Guardian:

Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which buys healthcare for the area, published a report on Tuesday summarising its review of services at New Epsom and Ewell, Leatherhead, Dorking and Molesey Community Hospitals.

Of greatest public interest was the proposal to close Leatherhead Hospital, which sparked 2,500 people to put their name to a petition this year headed by Paul Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Mole Valley.

Campaigners say they were warned in February that the hospital was under serious threat, but the CCG acknowledged the overwhelming public support was a factor in their recommendation to abandon the proposal.

Regarding the proposed closure, the report read: "There is significant public support for the Leatherhead Hospital and full closure would not be well received, particularly if improved clinical outcomes could not be demonstrated."

Mr Kennedy said: "I’m delighted and relieved that the option of closing Leatherhead Hospital has been rejected.

"People were genuinely scared we’d lose the hospital and it’s clear our campaign was a major factor in the ultimate decision.

"I'm pleased the Liberal Democrats have been able to give voice to the concerns of the people of Leatherhead and surrounding areas, and we’ll continue to do so."

However Conservative County Councillor Tim Hall slammed Mr Kennedy, saying the hospital was ‘never going to realistically close’, and the Liberal Democrats’ petition was ‘just blatant scaremongering’.

Mr Hall said: "I’m afraid you can’t save what was never going to close, can you?

"The reality is that this is a very important hospital - it has the only sexual health clinic in that area, for example - and the CCG never intended to close it.

"This was just some good PR for the Liberal Democrats around election time and nothing more."

He accused Mr Kennedy of worrying Leatherhead residents without cause, saying many believed the popular hospital was likely to close, which was ‘completely wrong’.

The CCG did not recommend the re-opening of Leatherhead’s Leach ward - after it was closed last November due to staff shortages - despite the petition.

The CCG declined the option despite acknowledging its popularity with patients and their families.

Despite this the CCG stood by its assertion that patient satisfaction had remained high since the consolidation and there would be no efficiency gains from reverting to the old model.

Mr Kennedy - who ran for the Mole Valley seat in the general election - said: "We have serious doubts about the rationale for not re-opening Leach Ward - the report seemed to start with a presumption that Leach Ward should close, and then they fit the evidence around that.

"There doesn’t seem to have been sufficient analysis of where patients and their friends and relatives - and indeed nursing and other staff - actually live."

But Mr Hall strongly contests this assertion, saying the evidence in the report was ‘very thorough’ and ‘extremely helpful’.

He said: "I completely trust the medical professionals in the CCG who compiled the report - especially because they’ve provided very good healthcare in this area.

"And if I had a choice of putting my healthcare in the hands of medical professionals and Liberal Democrats, I think I’d much rather trust them with these things."

Residents have been encouraged to voice their opinions by emailing contactus.surreydownsccg@nhs.net or attending one of the upcoming public workshops.

James Blythe, the CCG’s director of commissioning and strategy, said: "We genuinely want to know what local people, local patients and our stakeholders think about the possible options that have emerged."

We will use the next month to seek the views from as many people as possible."

Upcoming public workshops are as follows:

• Tuesday, September 1, Main Hall, St Andrew's Church, Downside Bridge Road, Cobham, KT11 3EJ, 6-8pm

• Wednesday, September 2, Leatherhead Institute, 67 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AH, 2-4pm

• Wednesday, September 2, United Reformed Church, 53 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1BS, 6-8pm

• Thursday, September 3, St Joseph's Church, St Margaret Drive, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 7JQ, 2-4pm