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Government Urged to Return Stroke Service to Scarborough Hospital

Wednesday, 26 November 2025 18:30

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

A petition for Scarborough Hospital to ‘once again’ provide care to stroke patients has been received by the Government.

​Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has submitted a parliamentary petition for Scarborough Hospital to “once again provide specialist emergency assessment, investigation, treatment and care for patients who are potentially suffering from, or have suffered from, an acute stroke”.

​Ms Hume said: “Currently, my constituents have to travel more than 40 miles on the traffic-choked A64 to be assessed and treated in York.”

​Following the submission of the petition earlier this month, the Department of Health is expected to officially respond by the end of January.

​The petition states that the stroke service should be restored at Scarborough Hospital “to avoid the need for patients to be transported, over 40 miles and often many more, to York Hospital from the East Coast region, and so that they do not undergo a lengthy and slow journey causing unnecessarily excessive clinical delays to their management”.

​According to Healthwatch North Yorkshire, in 2015 the Acute Stroke Service at Scarborough Hospital came under pressure with the retirement of two consultants, which meant there was “insufficient medical cover” to provide acute stroke care in Scarborough.

​Until 2020, patients would first go to Scarborough Hospital for their assessment, CT scan and thrombolysis treatment before being sent to York as part of a “drip and ship” model.

​Later, a decision was taken on safety grounds to change to a direct admission to York model in order to get patients to the hyper-acute unit faster.

​In 2021 it was confirmed that a move to send stroke patients from Scarborough to York would be made permanent.

​The petitioners have requested that the House of Commons urge the Government to take steps to “ensure that Scarborough Hospital can again offer timely and accessible emergency care to acute stroke patients in Scarborough, Whitby, and the East Coast catchment area”.

​The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted for a comment.

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