RICHMOND MP Rishi Sunak has expressed concern about the future of maternity services at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
Mr Sunak has written to County Durham health chiefs urging caution as they conduct a review of services in the area.
He says that any downgrading of the obstetrics service at the Darlington hospital would amount to a “breach of trust” given the undertakings given at the time of the downgrading of maternity services at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, in 2014.
In an open letter to the Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group, Mr Sunak says downgrading of the Memorial’s obstetrics service, particularly the maternity unit, would be contrary to what his constituents had been told at the time of the Friarage changes.
He refers to an “explicit understanding” given that provison at Darlington would continue and says that Sue Jacques, the chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust affirmed this at a North Yorkshire County Council committee meeting on March 14, 2014. Similar assurances were given at a series of public engagement events in North Yorkshire held at the time.
Mr Sunak says journeys to Darlington from some north-western parts of his constituency already take over an hour. The alternative – the James Cook University Hospital at Middlesbrough – is an hour and half away.
“A return journey of over three hours is surely not compatible with the NHS’s ambition of moving healthcare closer to home,” he adds.
Mr Sunak says there is no clinical justification for downgrading Darlington’s maternity unit. He writes: “We understand the health benefits for specialised areas of medicine like trauma, stroke or acute cardiac situations, but ordinary maternity care does not fall into these categories.”
The County Durham trust held a series of public engagement events about its Better Health Programme in May this year. A consultation exercise on any changes is likely to start later this year or early next.
The Richmond MP has also sought - and received - assurances about the future of the A&E department at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.
Mr Sunak contacted health chiefs after reports that the department was to be downgraded to a GP-led unit.
The Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys health services in the area, issued a statement last week saying the A&E department service was to be improved, not reduced.
Family doctors are being invited to join A&E consultants at the busiest periods over the weekend to help make sure patients are seen within the four-hour waiting time target.
Under the CCG's plan there will be no reduction in the number of, or hours worked, by A&E consultants.
Mr Sunak spoke to the CCG as soon as the report was published on a news website.
He said: "I am pleased that the CCG has been able to give me and my constituents a firm commitment to the future and development of the A&E service at the Friarage.
"This proposal is about improving the service to patients, not downgrading the unit and I welcome it."