Campaigners fear for future of district’s community hospitals

FEARS HAVE been raised for the future of community hospitals across North Yorkshire.

Health campaigners said they believed budgetary pressures facing the NHS could lead to the closure or further downgrading of hospitals, including ones at Whitby, Ripon, Richmond and Malton.

North Yorkshire’s scrutiny of health committee heard the claims following Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby clinical commissioning group (CCG) postponing a meeting over a £12m redevelopment of Whitby Hospital due the costs of the project being “higher than anticipated”.

After highlighting concerns over the finances of four of the county’s CCGs, the committee’s chairman, Coun Jim Clark, said he was “very concerned” the Whitby scheme may not go ahead.

The committee’s former chairman, Coun John Blackie, said hundreds of people had attended meetings over the future of Whitby Hospital in 2006, when it had 100 beds and an operating theatre.

Coun Blackie said the CCG had also clouded the future of the Friary Hospital in Richmond in uncertainty by stating it would consider whether retaining it was the best value for money.

The CCG has said the delay in the Whitby Hospital plan would “enable partners to continue to work closely together so the project can keep moving forward”. The CCG stated: “To be clear, we have not given any notice on the lease, nor made any plans for the future of the Friary Hospital.”

After the meeting, the spokeswoman said community hospitals were integral to its plans.