Hospital administrators in Shropshire are requesting input from the public on the future of a facility that was temporarily closed two years ago.
Bishop's Castle Community Hospital (BCCH)'s 12-bed unit was shut down as a result of a staffing shortage.
Shropshire Community Trust reported that it still had issues with hiring and couldn't safely reopen in the "near future.".
With stakeholders, the general public, and staff, an engagement process has begun.
Staff members claimed in March that they had been kept in the dark regarding the unit's future, and that this lack of information had resulted in low morale and worries that it would close down permanently.
However, Clair Hobbs, director of nursing, workforce, and clinical delivery at the trust, told BBC News on Wednesday that the unit still had a 60% vacancy rate for registered nurses and could not be reopened at this time.
The trust had held activities to entice more nurses, and it had also increased the number of student nurses it employed in the hope of keeping some of them after they graduated, she said.
Shropshire and Telford were both rural regions, which made recruiting difficult, particularly in places like Bishop's Castle that were even more isolated.
Therefore, it is appropriate that we weigh our options at this time, she said.
The public, stakeholders, and members of our staff will be involved in a form of engagement that will ask them if there is anything else that can be done and what kind of facilities they would like to see at Bishop's Castle Hospital. However, we recognize that this engagement will primarily revolve around the in-patient beds, so we have already begun this week. ".
The facility could potentially house scanners, provide services for diabetic eye exams, or even operate as a food bank, according to recent suggestions.
"The medical facility is open. We want to use and support this lovely facility, so we're just concentrating on that right now," Ms. Hobbs said.
If you'd like to get involved, you can talk to researchers in the town on Thursday, participate in focus groups, go to two open houses in July, or fill out an online survey on the hospital's website.
