Filey MP - Kevin Hollinrake - has been highlighting some of the issues with local hospital provision in a Westminster debate.
Mr Hollinrake called for more support and recruitment for small hospitals and says the current NHS trust system pushes trusts towards centralising services at larger hospital sites like York, because costs at smaller sites like Scarborough are higher.
Kevin Hollinrake says while centralising service may make sense from a financial viewpoint, it doesn't always take account of the patients needs in terms of access to care
The Richmond MP and Former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak also attended the debate and agreed that there are problems with the centralisation of services saying:
"As my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend Kevin Hollinrake, rightly pointed out, when healthcare organisations look at such things they tend to think about centralisation, because it looks very efficient on a spreadsheet wherever they might be sitting, but it does not work for our constituents. One thing I will say to the Minister is that she should send a strong message to trusts, particularly those that cover large urban centres and smaller rural hospitals in the same area, to always think about accessibility when they make their plans, which I do not believe they always do as well as they could."
In the Wesminster Hall debate the Filey MP also highlighted some of the financial issues that the NHS trusts themselves are facing. Mr Hollinrake says he's been told that the York and Scarborough Trust is having to pay extra wages and accommodation expenses to enable consultants to work at Scarborough Hospital.
Kevin Hollinrake also called for more funding for local hospitals, highlighting some of the funding issues faced at Scarborough Hospital.
Mr Hollinrake highlighted similar issues at other rural hospitals in North Yorkshire. The debate heard similar concerns from MP's from Devon, Cornwall and Scotland.
Minister of State for Health, Maria Caulfield MP said:
"I reassure colleagues that the ministerial team recognises the worth of small hospitals. It is not just about the value they bring to their local communities, but the pressure they take off the wider health service in their regions, which we have seen particularly clearly in recent months and years.
When we had covid hot and cold sites in the NHS, smaller hospitals were able to work and function and take some of the pressure off larger hospitals that had large outbreaks of covid. While I acknowledge that small hospitals are more expensive to run, their added value cannot be underestimated. "
"I want to reassure colleagues that we are committed to keeping smaller hospitals. The investment in the Friarage surgical hub is a case in point. We have also recently seen investment in North Devon. I also hear the call for the 40 hospitals programme. We are committed to that, and it is important that staff have that reassurance and patience, because it is about not just the services that are technically on a site, but the quality of care. As smaller hospitals often know their patients well, they get a quality of care that they sometimes do not get in larger hospitals with hundreds of patients coming through a department."
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