Friarage fears (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Friarage fears

11:52am Friday 10th July 2009

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Sir, – As a recently retired staff nurse from the children’s ward at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, I was very interested to read your article (D&S July 3).

However, I was disappointed that you mentioned the maternity services and special care baby unit at great length yet never once mentioned that the children’s ward at the Friarage will be closing at the same time as the other two services.

This will cause great inconvenience for a very large percentage of the local population. All sick children – accidents and emergencies, routine medical problems and medical emergencies, orthopaedic problems, routine surgery, investigative health problems, all babies who become ill but are not classified as SCBU babies( ie they are well at birth and are not underweight), all infections including those with meningitis, chest infections, diarrhoea and vomiting – this list mentions just a few of the problems that bring children into the children’s ward.

I notice that Coun Dadd said: “We have been guaranteed that paediatric surgery ... will be reintroduced at the earliest opportunity.”

What about the rest of the services? Surgery is not at all the principal cause for hospital admission to the children’s ward.

It would be a crying shame if the newly-built unit were closed, never again to open after all of the hard work by the people of Northallerton who raised the funds in order to have the unit built in the first place.

I hope that something will be done to bring the plight of local sick children and those with special needs who require extra help, often at short notice, to the attention of the population in general.

BARBARA WELCH Winton Road, Northallerton.

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