Ward 3 of Bishop Auckland General Hospital
Helen has made a statement concerning the announcement by County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust that Ward 3 of Bishop Auckland General hospital is to be closed.
She said, “Thousands of my constituents have signed a petition or written to me about their desire to save Ward 3 at Bishop Auckland General Hospital. I want to make it absolutely clear that I stand alongside them in wanting to see the best possible medical services in Bishop Auckland.
“I was very surprised and disappointed to hear of the decision by the Trust to close Ward 3 because they told me usage over the past two years was 75 to 85 per cent. This demonstrates that there is a current need for the service.
“I am also concerned at the apparent lack of co-ordination between the Hospital Trust, PCT and County Council. The Trust has been told by the Department of Health that people should be sent home earlier from hospital. But before this is done there needs to be good community support systems provided by the PCT and County Council. I am asking them to address this urgently.
“Thirdly, I believe it is a waste of public money to leave facilities at Bishop Auckland General Hospital unused while at the same time paying for treatment to be done in private sector hospitals. I am raising this issue with Sir John Bourne, the head of the National Audit Office, as well as with Patricia Hewitt.
“I have already asked the Trust to make a medium term plan for the future of the hospital. This should include centralising haematology services in Bishop Auckland as recommended by the Strategic Health Authority. I repeat that call now.”
Filed under: Uncategorized on January 11th, 2007
