CHIPPING Norton residents have been given a choice between a care home trust taking over the town's intermediate care unit or losing it completely.

At a meeting of Oxfordshire County Council’s Health and Scrutiny overview committee today, John Jackson, the council’s director of community and social services said either the Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) takes over the unit's 14 beds, or the service could be lost.

His comments prompted disbelief from a councillor campaigning to keep the service in Chipping Norton, who said it could effectively mean the town loses its hospital. 

The committee agreed to launch a public consultation and examine the results at a meeting in September.

Mr Jackson said: “Our proposals have clearly caused concern amongst the people of Chipping Norton.

“We definitely feel there should be a consultation about the choices facing the people of Chipping Norton.

“Either people support the OSJCT providing intermediate care or there will be no intermediate care in Chipping Norton.

“If there is no local support for the OSJCT then nothing will available to the town.”

The council wants to transfer the 14 intermediate care beds currently run by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust to the control of OSJCT.

In the past campaigners have spoken out against the proposals, fearing a loss of NHS qualified staff at the hospital.

Reacting to the announcement, the council’s lead member for public health, Hilary Biles who  has long campaigned to keep the hospital in Chipping Norton, said: “This was our hospital.

"If they remove the intermediate care beds we end up with no hospital.

“I can’t believe it.”

The old war memorial hospital in the town was closed down 10 years ago and campaigners fought hard to ensure a new hospital was built.

The new hospital is owned by the NHS and the county council. However while the NHS operates the maternity unit, the care home facility next door is operated by OSJCT.

A deal was done to second NHS staff to OSJCT to run the intermediate care ward for three-year period which ended 2014. Then Oxford Health took over control of the nurses.