Hospital cuts rally is town's biggest ever protest march |
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| People power has sent a clear message to health officials in the region - "Save our services". More than 2,000+ protesters marched against planned cuts at Bridlington Hospital. Crowds made their way from Morrisons, along Bessingby Way to the hospital, waving flags, banners and placards. Residents lined the route on Saturday, waving to the protesters as they passed and drivers sounded their horns as they drove by. Jean Wormwell, secretary of Pensioners' Action Group East Riding (Pager), told the Mail: "This is without doubt one of the largest protests Bridlington has seen. "This shows the hospital means a lot to people. The situation is very serious." The march and subsequent rally was to protest against Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust's plans to transfer services to Scarborough Hospital, 17 miles away. Residents of all ages attended the march. Bill Thundercliffe, 55, from Bridlington, said: "I had to come and show my support. If it wasn't for this hospital, I'd be dead. "I had a heart attack three weeks ago and if the cardiac monitoring unit hadn't been here, I wouldn't be here now." Kirsty Steggall, 18, said: "I came to campaign to keep the maternity ward. If someone goes into labour and they have complications while they're in an ambulance it could be very serious. It's really important to keep the services here." The march was followed by a rally in the hospital grounds. The crowd was addressed by campaigners, health staff, union representatives and East Yorkshire MP Greg Knight. Protesters cheered as Mick Pilling, chairman of the Save Bridlington Hospital Action Group, attacked the health trust for its treatment of the town's hospital. "They are going to rip the heart and soul out of the hospital that has been here to serve you for the past 18 years," he said. "If the trust can't balance its books, why should we become the poor relation? Why should we bail them out?" The trust's board of directors has already agreed to move maternity services to Scarborough. It is currently considering plans to transfer the cardiac monitoring unit and some acute medical services to Scarborough as well. The plans were put on hold in July, after the trust announced it needed to make 600 job cuts in an attempt to claw back its historic financial deficit of £20.7m. However, Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority decided to "park" the debt. The deal means that, provided the trust can balance its books in the future, it will not have to make any repayments to the authority that would affect clinical services. The trust now needs to make savings of £7.2m by March next year and has anticipated it will need to shed about 50 jobs to help meet this target. Since the deal, plans for the future of Bridlington Hospital have been back on the agenda and residents have becoming increasingly worried about the potential loss of services. Mr Knight told protesters he is to meet with Health Secretary Alan Johnson next month to discuss the situation in Bridlington. Hospital staff said the sight of so many people was good for morale and would force managers to take notice. Steve Holliday, a staff nurse in the cardiac monitoring unit, said: "The turnout is absolutely brilliant and shows what the people feel about the hospital. "Generally staff morale is low at the moment and seeing this makes you realise the strength of feeling against the cuts. "People have to listen now. Alan Johnson is well aware of what is going on in this area and I believe he is listening." No one from the trust was available for comment. The trust's board of directors is due to discuss the future of the hospital at its November board meeting. |
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