Making do (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Making do

11:44am Friday 10th July 2009

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THE temporary closure of children’s services at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton sends a chill down the spine of all those who treasure the full range of services offered by the North Yorkshire district hospital.

Although the maternity unit (dealing with high-risk births), the special care baby unit and the children’s ward will reopen at the end of October, the fact that the local services will be withdrawn for three-and-a-half months may be seen as a test run for eventual closure.

Although the South Tees Hospitals Trust has repeatedly said it is committed to maintaining maternity and children’s services at the Friarage, this temporary staffing crisis is the illustration of the problems it has previously outlined in running the full range of services at a relatively small hospital.

With public spending under increasing pressure, it does not auger well for the future. Much may depend on whether the health service is protected from the cuts that all parties, with the exception of the Prime Minister, acknowledge will have to come in the next few years.

A keen watch will also be kept on what the effect of the temporary suspension of these services at the Friarage will have. Should the three-and-half month period pass without undue problems, it may embolden the South Tees trust, at some future point, to press ahead with the changes on a permanent basis.

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