AN NHS trust accused of having a laissez-faire attitude towards the closure of a cottage hospital has claimed doubts over the infirmary's future date back nearly a decade.

After being challenged to state whether it was determined to reopen the Lambert Memorial Hospital, in Thirsk, leaders of South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust insisted they were doing all in their power to staff the 14-bed ward, which closed in September after failing to recruit enough nurses.

The trust said it had gone to great lengths to remedy the situation, after coming under criticism from members of the North Yorkshire County Council scrutiny of health committee and the Lambert Hospital Action Group.

Leaders of the trust, attending a meeting of the committee, heard the chief officer of Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Vicky Pleydell, describe the closure as “a disaster”.

Thirsk councillor Gareth Dadd said the "serious systems risk" caused by the Lambert closure was deeply concerning and highlighted that GPs in the area were also determined to see the infirmary reopened.

He said it was particularly worrying that organisational mismanagement rather than clinical needs appeared to be the driving force behind the decision to close the hospital.

It has also been suggested that staff had offered to work extra hours to keep it open, but trust management refused the offer.

A trust spokeswoman said the hospital's future had "been in question for nearly a decade" and since inheriting the service it had been a constant challenge to ensure a sustainable leadership and staffing approach.

She said the trust was constantly advertising for nurses, had attended recruitment fairs and developed links with Catterick Garrison to see if partners of service personnel wanted to return to nursing, but applicants would be able to choose the area in which they worked.

Acting director of nursing Gill Hunt said: “The decision to temporarily close the ward at Lambert Memorial Hospital was based entirely on the safety and welfare of patients and the wellbeing of staff and we are constantly advertising for nurses and actively looking to recruit.

“Unfortunately nurse recruitment is a national issue, particularly in elderly care, and historically the Lambert has been a hard to recruit to ward.

“It would be wrong and misleading to suggest the trust is not making every effort to fill vacant nursing posts and re-open the ward – however this is entirely dependent on successful recruitment and nurses choosing to work there.”