Bridlington Healthcare Issues to be Raised at Public Meeting

Local residents are being strongly encouraged to attend a vital public meeting this Thursday focusing on the future of healthcare provision and the new ‘Bridlington Health Improvement Plan’.

The event, hosted by the Bridlington Health Forum, is described as an important opportunity for the community to engage directly with key healthcare commissioners and providers.

The meeting, scheduled for 5pm to 7pm at the Bridlington Spa Theatre, will host representatives from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the York and Scarborough Hospitals Trust. Dr. Anthony Clarke, Chair of the Bridlington Health Forum and a former GP in the town, highlighted the purpose of the gathering, stressing the need to address long-standing inequalities affecting the coastal area.

Dr. Clarke stated that the challenge faced by the local community is significant:

"It's well recognized by our guests who are coming to speak that we have historically lost out being a coastal community and being an area of relative deprivation compared to inland areas.

It's well known that life expectancy at the coast is less than inland in York or Harrogate and places like that.

And I feel that the health inequalities are worsening at the moment and we really do need to take hold of this problem which is a real challenge especially in the climate of cuts to the healthcare funding at the York Trust for example.

We need to take hold of this challenge and try and reverse this trend".

Travel and Accessibility Challenges

A primary concern raised by the Health Forum is the difficulty many residents face in accessing necessary appointments due to the centralisation of services. Dr. Clarke noted that the loss of local outpatient appointments over the years has created a "travel challenge".

Dr. Clarke explained the widespread impact this has on patients and their families:

"One of those is a travel challenge because we've lost so many local outpatient appointments over the years, so now 65% of our populations outpatient appointments are at distant hospitals and this causes a lot of problems for some of our frail elderly and patients who can't drive. It means that family members have to take time off work and that has knock-on consequences.

We are trying to raise the voice of local residents as loudly and politely as possible to those who have the power to make a difference and we would appreciate having a good public turnout on Thursday for the public to express the strength of their concerns in person".

The Forum seeks a strong public turnout to demonstrate the community’s feelings about the necessity of strengthening local services.

"The key thing is that we would like a good response from the community to show the strength of feeling about local healthcare services and the need to strengthen local services.

We recognize that a lot of good work goes on, at distant hospitals. But a recurrent complaint and challenges is the fact that many people have great difficulty getting to distant hospitals"

The Bridlington Health Improvement Plan

The focus of Thursday’s meeting will be the 'Bridlington Health Improvement Plan', which is now an official work stream of the Integrated Care Board and has been developed with input from the Health Forum. The plan contains seven work streams aimed at enhancing local services.

Dr. Clarke expressed the importance of hearing the health bodies detail their proposals for the future. He stated that if the work streams are successfully pushed through, they should result in several key developments, including: "There'll be continuing support for our primary care services. There will be increased hospital activity at Bridlington Hospital. There will be continuing and an increased emphasis on health prevention and health screening. And we're hoping also that there will be developments with mental health service provision".

Specific topics on the agenda include updates on Dentistry, which the Integrated Care Board is responsible for. Furthermore, the palliative care bed pilot currently underway at Bridlington Hospital will be discussed. This pilot is something the community "very much wanting" as it aims to enable Bridlington residents to die in the town rather than in Scarborough Hospital. The Forum is also seeking the restoration of inpatient care at Bridlington Hospital for complex patients who cannot be cared for at home.

Accountability and Increased Coastal Focus

The Forum is set to welcome key leaders to the meeting, including the Director of Public Health, the Place Director of the Integrated Care Board, and the Chair of the York and Scarborough Hospitals Trust.

The public is encouraged to attend to hear these representatives questioned publicly about the new plan. Dr. Clarke viewed the meeting as an opportunity for the public to express their views directly to the commissioners and providers. He added:

"It's an important opportunity for the public to express their views about local health care provision to the ICB, the Integrated Care Board, and to the York and Scarborough Hospitals Trust and show that we are in agreement with their desire to to try and strengthen our local health services".

The Bridlington Health Forum Meeting takes place at Bridlington Spa Theatre on Thursday October 23rd from 5pm to 7pm. There are more details at https://www.bridlingtonhealthforum.co.uk/post/plans-to-improve-bridlington-s-heath-and-care