MP Highlights Issues Getting to Hospital Appointments for Yorkshire Coast Patients

Wednesday, 14 September 2022 06:00

By Matthew Pells

The difficulties faced by Yorkshire Coast residents when accessing hospital services have been highlighted by Filey's MP

Kevin Hollinrake spoke at a Westminster debate on rural hospital services last week.

He spoke about how the centralisation of some services at big city hospital sites like York, has caused problems for people living on the coast.

Kevin Hollinrake talked about how the removal of some local services has left patients with a number of challenges accessing the replacement services in York, Hull or Middlesbrough

The Filey MP also talked about the loss of the stroke service at Scarborough Hospital and the implications for patients who now have to make the forty mile journey to York's specialist stroke unit.

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."