Chris Coombs ... ‘not unusual to have increased pressure on bed spaces'

HEALTH bosses were forced to send patients down the coast to Bridlington Hospital because there were no beds left at Scarborough Hospital. They say the problem arose because the Haldane Ward and the Duke of Kent children's ward at Scarborough had to be closed for improvements.

However, the shortage of beds should ease because the Haldane Ward has now been reopened. But the children's ward will not be operational again until towards the end of this month.

The potentially lethal bacteria Legionella pneumophila, which can develop into Legionnaire's disease, was discovered in July in the water supply to the Haldane and Duke of Kent wards.

Chris Coombs, hospital trust board secretary, said: “At this time of year it is not unusual to experience increased pressure on bed spaces.

“Because of that pressure we decided to reopen Haldane ward. We have thoroughly cleaned the ward and fitted water filters to taps.”

A member of campaign group the Health of North East Yorkshire (Honey), who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that the decision to reopen Haldane Ward had not been thought through properly.

He said: “We welcome any restoration of a closed facility but it does bring into question the original decision taken by the management of the hospital.

“Haldane ward was closed on health and safety grounds and we are concerned that the decision to reopen it has not been subject to any external scrutiny. How can it have been made safe?

“We are still very concerned that Scarborough Health Trust is still underfunded and despite the ‘parking' of the trust's historic debt this underfunding issue has not been resolved.

“The result of this is that services at Scarborough Hospital are being cut by stealth to balance the budget.”