CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Ringwood's community hospital vow that they "will never give up."

And the Friends of St Leonards Hospital are amassing an army of volunteers to do battle and help save the hospital from closing.

It was revealed that St Leonards, Alderney and Westhaven hospitals, in Poole, Ringwood and Weymouth respectively, have been recommended for closure by NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Chairman of the Friends of St Leonards, Jacqueline Moss expressed her fury that members only learned about the closure plans via Facebook.

But it has now been revealed that some members of staff were also kept in the dark and also only learned about the plans after seeing it in the Journal or on social media.

Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the Friends, Mrs Moss said: “We will never give up trying to stop this proposals from going ahead.

“This hospital cannot close it is just too important for our community.”

A spokesman from Dorset HealthCare said: “We regret that some of our staff heard about these plans through social media and other channels. We informed staff as soon as the information was made public on Wednesday morning but accept that this may have taken a bit longer to cascade.

“It is important to stress that nothing has been decided.

“A formal consultation will take place over a three-month period starting in the autumn.

“Our staff will play a vital role in helping to shape the Trust’s response to the proposals, and we are planning a series of meetings where they can present their views.”

The CCG has said the three sites, including St Leonards, were less accessible than other community hospitals and would require greater investment to upgrade.

The proposals would see cash made through the move go towards the estimated £20 million cost of improving the rest of the county’s community health services.

But Mrs Moss believes selling the hospital land will not be that easy because of a covenant which says there must always be a hospital on the site.

Anyone interested in joining the campaign to fight to save St Leonards Hospital should email friendsofstleonards@gmail.com or call 07811467360.