A petition calling for a free shuttle bus between two hospitals to be retained has been presented to Rishi Sunak MP.
The petition calls for the bus, which connects the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, and the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, to be kept running.
Funded by the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the service is under review.
The Richmond MP met the campaign organiser, Marie Davis, to receive the petition which has been signed by more than 1,400 people.
He said: “I’ve been very impressed with the effort Marie and others have put into gathering this petition. It clearly demonstrates the strength of feeling about the service.”
After receiving the petition from Mrs Davis, Mr Sunak held a meeting with the chief officer of the CCG, Janet Probert, to discuss the bus, which was introduced at the time maternity and children’s services at the Friarage were downgraded in 2014.
A number of options to keep the bus, which is used by patients, relatives and staff, were discussed.
Mr Sunak said: “I impressed on Mrs Probert the importance of retaining a service in some form. “Whatever changes to the service might be proposed, it is vital that patients and their families who have been affected by the services being moved to James Cook will have transportation provided as promised.”
“The CCG understands that and has promised further consultation before any changes to the service are proposed.”
When the CCG announced that the service was being reviewed ealier this month Mr Sunak spent a morning on the bus travelling between the two hospitals to find out what users felt.
He said the service was clearly popular with patients and particularly staff at the beginning and end of the day. Some services in the middle of the day were not so well used.
He added that all the users he spoke to were prepared to make a contribution to the cost if the alternative was no service at all.
Mrs Davis, who lives in Northallerton and works at the James Cook, said she was delighted by the response to the petition. “I am very grateful for the support of all who signed and to Mr Sunak for representing our views to the CCG.
“We started the petition because first and foremost we want to save the service for the benefit of patients,” she added. “That has always been our main aim.”
The free bus, for use by hospital patients and their families and staff, travels between the hospitals ten times a day, and is available Monday to Friday, except public holidays. It was deemed to be so successful that it was extended just over a year ago and a larger bus introduced.
