Councillors reveal they felt health consultation ‘was a paper exercise’

COUNCILLORS WERE “disappointed” at a consultation on plans to change a Yorkshire city’s NHS services – branding it a paper exercise.

Health chiefs last week agreed to reconsider proposals to close the NHS Walk-in Centre on Broad Lane and Minor Injuries Unit at the Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

The two units had been under threat after Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) proposed replacing them with a single Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Northern General Hospital.

However, after a lengthy consultation received thousands of objections and a 20,000 signature petition, health officials recommended a rethink.

Now it has emerged Sheffield councillors were unhappy with the consultation and had serious misgivings about the proposals.

They are outlined in a letter from Coun Pat Midgley, chairman of the Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care scrutiny committee, to Dr Tim Moorhead, chairman of NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group.

Writing on behalf of the scrutiny committee, Coun Midgley said: “From the start of the consultation process, we were disappointed that the three options presented were very similar, all involving the closure of the Broad Lane Walk-in Centre and the Minor Injuries Unit.

“For many, this was frustrating, and gave the impression that the consultation was a paper exercise. We were also disappointed at the lack of early public engagement in drawing up the proposals for consultation.”

The scrutiny committee was particularly concerned about siting the UTC at the Northern General.