Consultation Document Finalisation |
Yesterdays meeting at Leisure World Re-Consultation Document Finalisation was filled with surprises? We all thought we would get the answers we so desperately needed; what we got was a stay of execution on the Cardiac Monitoring Unit; Maternity Services etc but we did get a promise that the Minor Injuries Unit would open 24/7 as soon as possible; Mr McInnes explained that once staff were recruited, trained and in place the unit would open within 2 to 3 month; watch this space we are looking at (JUNE 07) Taking everything into account all the hard work and campaigning we can celebrate a victory; we will now keep our eyes on the Trust at all times; back-door & stealth are the norm! NOTE : We must now pay particular attention to the Waters Ward Mental Health Care Unit @ Bridlington Hospital this 12 ward with 17 nurses cannot be closed! Has they try to close this by September 2007 we will campaign to keep this service in Bridlington... Mick Pilling Please also find this message from Chief Executive Iain McInnes Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust MESSAGE FROM INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE 03/04/07 Dear Colleagues Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust Board will discuss recommendations following the conclusion of two public consultations at their Board meeting this afternoon. The Trust has been consulting on the delivery of: local maternity services, especially in Bridlington, Malton and Whitby ; and the future best use of Bridlington Hospital . Maternity Services I will advise the Board that, in addition to the findings from the consultation process, national policy guidelines on the future of maternity are due to be released this month. The recommendation to the Board will be to wait for the publication of the guidelines before making a decision. The short delay would also allow the hospital time to consult fully with national maternity experts on the possible options. This approach would ensure the Trust can provide high quality services in line with national best practice. The decision will then be considered at the May Board meeting. We remain concerned at the low frequency of births in Malton, Whitby and Bridlington (average one baby per week) and the high percentage of those mother's and babies who require urgent transfer during their delivery (one in five). Bridlington Hospital Following a full public consultation exercise I have recommended to the Board that services are approved for the Bridlington site including an integrated Minor Injuries Unit available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and a significant growth in the number of day surgery procedures on the site. The recommended decision would mean local people could receive treatment for a variety of conditions (from hernia repair to varicose veins) and be released from their local hospital the same day. Advances in medical procedures now allow many procedures that would previously have involved a stay in hospital to be dealt with as day surgery. The provision of acute services at Bridlington Hospital has also been considered and questions asked around the safety and efficacy of the present arrangements. Senior clinical figures and the Royal Colleges are expected to examine the proposals and offer expert independent opinion before any decision is taken. Clinicians at Bridlington Hospital are supporting an external review. The Board will consider the external review at its June meeting. The external review will enable the Trust to examine other potential models of service that may be appropriate for Bridlington Hospital . Iain McInnes Interim Chief Executive |
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