PLANS to axe an out-of-hours appointments service at Richardson Hospital, in Barnard Castle, have been criticised for moving important services away from rural areas.
NHS Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Commissioning Care Group (CCG) has made the controversial proposals. The changes were debated public consultation event at Glaxo Sports and Social Club, in Barnard Castle, last Monday (November 26). They include reducing the nine County Durham “hubs”, which were created last year, to three. At present, one of these hubs operates at Richardson Hospital and provides out-of-hours appointments with a nurse practitioner on evenings and weekends.
But the CCG says the service is “under used” and costs on average £269 per patient compared to a similar service in Bishop Auckland which costs £59 per patient.
Sarah Burns, director of commissioning for the CCG, said: “We don’t think this is the best use of money and we can provide a better service.
“There is the worry that staff will leave if they are not busy and we don’t want that.”
Three hubs that cover the Durham dales will be reduced to one site at Bishop Auckland. The Bishop Auckland hub would operate between noon and 8am on weekdays and between 8am and 1pm, or 10am and 2pm, on weekends. Patients in Teesdale would have to travel a further 15 miles for medical care outside normal working hours.
However, the proposals angered residents who attended the consultation. They said the existing service is underused due to a lack of publicity and awareness
County councillor Richard Bell said: “The feeling on my table was that the Richardson Hospital facility would have been much better used had people known how to access it, and that calls should be diverted from local surgeries direct to the Richardson and not to 111, which can be difficult to get past and also seems to divert people to Bishop Auckland.
“I will be saying to Durham County Council’s health scrutiny committee that the facility should not be closed because there has not been a chance yet for the true demand to be shown. At the end of the day there is no dressing up the fact that Bishop Auckland is further away for most Teesdale residents.”
Barnard Castle resident Pam Ashmore said: “I didn’t even know about the out-of-hours appointment service at the Richardson.”
Town councillor Judi Sutherland said she had expected a larger turnout for the consultation but questioned how well it had been publicised. She asked whether the new housing estates being built in Barnard Castle had been taken into account, adding that they would put an extra strain on existing resources, especially the GP surgery.
Cllr Sutherland added: “I don’t support these changes. I do support the NHS, but more and more it feels like it should be renamed the urban health service. People in rural areas get much worse services. To make people travel an extra 15 miles to Bishop Auckland is not in an improvement.
“Most people are not aware they can get an out-of-hours appointment at the Richardson.Why can’t the GP
receptionist book your appointment, or make people aware of the service?”
Ros Evans, vice chairwoman of Teesdale Area Action Partnership, asked if it was possible to have the service at Richardson Hospital continued with GP surgeries promoting it. She added: “Why don’t we have the right information about these services? How can we use a service if we have never heard of it?” The consultation runs until Wednesday, December 19. To comment, visit haveasay.org.uk
