Fury as hospital beds and minor injuries units face closure

Under the proposals units in Hornsea, Driffield and Withernsea, used by over 13,000 patients a year, would close.

East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group says this would allow them to provide better care in urgent care centres, which could be based in Bridlington, Beverley and Goole.

There are also plans to close community beds at Bridlington and Withernsea, with patients who are not fit enough to go home, going into nursing or care homes instead.

However campaigners say it will mean the loss of vital services in rural areas and cause huge difficulties for local people faced with making long journeys for treatment.

Consultation will run from October 25 to January 17, with the first of a series of public events taking place at Bridlington Spa on Monday November 7, from 1pm to 4pm.

Campaigner June Barton, of Hornsea League of Friends, who battled to save the hospital ten years ago, called for people in the town to join her in fighting the plans.

She said: “They are ruthlessly shutting all the community beds, they don’t want any, it’s anything to get them out of acute hospitals. They say it’s not about saving money, but we all know the bottom line is about saving money - if they cut middle management they could save a lot of money.

“We have swathes of people in this area who do not have transport. How are they going to get to places like Beverley, if the bus company cuts services as they are hoping to do?

“We will be getting people out demonstrating. We want it to be Hornsea people fighting for Hornsea services, rather than politicians joining in.

“This is about local people wanting to save local services.”

Currently 61,630 people a year attend the six MIUs. Bridlington’s MIU is the busiest, gets around 50 patients day (19,041 a year), followed by Goole (16,109) and Beverley (13,063). Driffield gets around 20 a day (7,465); Hornsea (3,139) and Withernsea (2,813).

The CCG says patients are “often confused” about where to go for treatment, and dialling 999 or going straight to A&E “is the norm”, leading some services to be “duplicated or significantly underused whilst others are constantly coming under more and more pressure.”

The urgent care centres will have consistent opening times 16 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and will provide a consistent range of advice, treatment and diagnostics, from broken bones, to whiplash, and minor surgery.

Chief officer of the East Riding CCG Jane Hawkard said: “By providing a consistent service, the centres will be better connected to the wider urgent care system and will allow NHS 111 and ambulances to direct and drop off patients there. This is not possible with the current minor injury units.”

She said the options “best meet the need of the whole of the East Riding of Yorkshire and offer the best value” and urged people to get involved in the consultation.