Bid to reverse plan for Cramlington hospital

Nov 17 2009 By Helen Rae, The Journal

A NORTH East parliamentary candidate has launched a campaign to reverse the decision to build a new emergency care hospital in the region.

Last month, bosses at NHS North of Tyne gave the go-ahead to a £200m investment plan which will dramatically shake up the way health services are provided in Tyneside and Northumberland.

In the new hospital plans, all emergency cases will be treated at a specialist emergency care centre near Moor Farm roundabout, Cramlington, instead of the nearby general hospitals.

A further £125m will be spent improving Wansbeck and North Tyneside hospitals, while community hospitals in Berwick and Haltwhistle will be rebuilt.

Consultant-led maternity services and special care baby units will also be transferred to the new emergency hospital, which is expected to be up and running by 2012.

Youngsters being treated at the pediatrics unit will only stay for short-term care with those requiring more intensive treatment being transferred to the Great North Children’s Hospital at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

However, Ron Beadle, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesman for Newcastle North, has launched a campaign with other Liberal Democrats to reverse the decision.

He said the decision by NHS North of Tyne could see thousands of residents living in Gosforth, Kingston Park, Hazlerigg, Brunswick and Dinnington taken to Cramlington in an emergency.

"It is quite wrong that gravely ill patients should in an emergency be rushed by ambulance to Cramlington instead of being taken to their nearest hospital in Newcastle," he said.

"Residents I have spoken with in the north of Newcastle are really angry at this announcement. They don’t want to be treated in Northumberland – they want to be treated in their local hospital."

Mr Beadle said there were also transport issues to consider, which he claimed had been overlooked by NHS North of Tyne.

The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is known to oppose the plans, citing the close proximity of the new hospital to the RVI. The Trust also felt the new hospital threatened development of the Great North Children’s Hospital because of proposals for paediatric care at Cramlington.

A spokesperson for NHS North of Tyne said: "We have offered to meet with Mr Beadle to reassure him about the potential impact of the new hospital on residents from the Newcastle boundary areas and as soon as we hear from him will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements.

"It’s important to stress this facility is being developed primarily for the population of Northumberland and North Tyneside. We know in some parts of west Northumberland, some said they preferred to receive emergency care at Newcastle and we have said we will do what we can to facilitate this. For the vast majority of people living in Newcastle they would rightly continue to access emergency care in Newcastle. In the case of any ‘blue light’ medical emergency, the patient will be taken to the nearest most appropriate clinical service for the patient’s condition.

"In the event of traffic congestion or a road being blocked a ‘blue light’ ambulance would go to the appropriate hospital with the shortest journey time."