NHS - MEDIA RELEASE 15th Sept 2003

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES REVEALED
Recommendations for the future delivery of high quality, sustainable healthcare throughout the Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale and Bridlington areas will be presented at a series of Board Meetings over the next two weeks.

The Clinical Strategy Project Group (CSPG) has spent the last eight months looking in detail at local health services. This group comprises Chief Executives of three local health trusts, together with Medical Directors and Directors of Finance. It has been chaired by the Medical Director of the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority, Professor Rajan Madhok.

Said Rajan Madhok, Medical Director of the Strategic Health Authority and Chair of the CSPG, "Providing health services in a large, rural area has its own particular challenges, and it was important to consider how we can deliver the optimum level of services, ensuring safety, accessibility and sustainability. For this review we have looked in detail at various services, including maternity, elderly, emergency, and Bridlington Hospital. We believe that this report provides a strong foundation for ensuring the future of health care throughout the area. I am sure that it will reassure local people that their health services are secure".

Once the report has been presented at all the Board meetings, there will be opportunities for the public to comment on the report at a series of meetings. The first of these is scheduled for Thursday, 23rd October 2003 at 2.00pm to be held in the Dining Room, Bridlington & District Hospital, Bessingby Road, Bridlington. In order to provide adequate facilities for the meeting, those wishing to attend are encouraged to confirm their attendance by ringing the Yorkshire Wolds and Primary Care Trust on (01482) 672056.

All are welcome to attend. The work of the CSPG continues, as other services will be considered in a rolling programme of reviews. This will ensure that healthcare continues to be provided in a safe and effective way. The future work will be led by the acute trust and the PCTs, whilst the Strategic Health Authority will continue to have an overview.
Ends.

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