SERVICES at Bridlington Hospital will be cut after Health Secretary Alan Johnson supported the findings of an independent review panel.

The decision has sparked horror amongst residents who have staged a long-fought battle against the plans.

Only weeks ago 7,000 people marched through Bridlington in protest at the proposals to transfer the cardiac unit and two acute medical wards at Bridlington to Scarborough.

But Mr Johnson today said he was satisfied the changes were "right" for patients and the local health service.

He added: "As the IRP report states, patients whose needs cannot be met by Bridlington and District Hospital will receive the best treatment in Scarborough hospitals where there is a full range of specialist facilities and staff."

Campaigner Mick Pilling said he was "absolutely devastated".

"It's five and a half years of hard work and dedication to find the health secretary hasn't taken one iota of what the people of Bridlington wanted.

"We had 39,000 signatures on petitions that went to London, 7,000 marched in July and 3,5000 did last year, all demanding that services remain in Bridlington. Last week the trust declared red alert because there were no beds available; consequently the wards at Bridlington Hospital are full and they have had to open Lloyd ward to accomodate the overflow. It doesn't make sense."

Coun Margart Chadwick said: "They haven't considered the mass demonstration - 7,000 people. Are these people deaf? I'm wondering whether they live on the same planet. It's absolutely devastating news."

Coun Ros Jump, East Riding Council portfolio holder for health, said it was a dreadful blow - but they now needed to look forward. "Bridlington is still recognised as being a viable site. It's getting that over to the public.

"They have lost acute services but they are going to put in more community services for elderly people and monitoring of elderly people with diabetes. They are going to be increasing the low-level but very essential services so it will become very much a community hospital."

04/09/2008

Oh, WHAT a surprise!
Exactly as I predicted when it was fist reported on these pages that the decision would be referred to Alan Johnson.
What else was this fourth rate minister in a fifth rate "listening" government ever going to do?

Against Bereaurcracy.

05/09/2008 

Our NHS services are now beyond the democratic process and are being made a farce of by the IRP jobsworths.

I really must agree with all that has been said, our NHS services have been taken out the public domain and put into the hands of unelected government quango's who only appear to be accountable to the bureaucrats and whitehall mandarins.

Yesterday I heard a speech at a meeting in Scarborough, one person at the meeting summed it up in these words,
John Palethorpe of the Improve North York's NHS Services Campaign Group, made a scathing attack yesterday on the way the health service is being run, particularly in N&E York's, saying "an enormous amount of money has been put in but it has been wasted on excessive management and bureaucrats".

He said the NHS is in "meltdown" and claimed medics refused to speak up about the problems for fear of being sacked.

He also stated,"If something is not done soon we will not have hospitals, medics or GPs, just a massive NHS bureauracracy, we in N&E York's are being disenfranchised by the very cost of this massive bureaucratic machine, which appears to be unstopable, the plain fact is we have lost control of our democracy.

After a question today via e,mail John Palethorpe replied,"Scarborough hospital has in the space of the last seven days been condemned by two patients as being filthy in the extreme, these complaints relate to the 'acute admissions unit' and the 'maternity ward', it is a disgrace that clean modern facilities at the AAU and Maternity unit at Bridlington are being moved to third world units in Scarborough".