Over 40 people including representatives of East Riding Healthwatch and three local Councillors attended the first Bridlington Health Forum (BHF) public meeting recently.
A spokesman for the group explained:
“The Forum’s presentation clearly explained the managed decline of health services away from Bridlington Hospital since the Independent Review Panel’s Report of 2008, when acute medical admissions were diverted to Scarborough Hospital. Sadly, only one of the seven recommendations of this report were acted upon, and Bridlington has subsequently suffered from what many members of the public believe is a deliberately planned decimation of local services. We have strong evidence that the centralisation of services away from coastal areas has continued even after the Pandemic, with up to 72 percent of people who are currently referred to York Trust’s specialist out-patient clinics now being offered appointments at hospitals as distant as Malton and York.
“Many attendees contributed, sharing experiences and concerns about declining local health services. Local opinion confirmed our concerns about the adverse effects of health inequalities and unequal access to health services. Many expressed concerns regarding;
• the under use of Bridlington Hospital
• the limitations of services provided by the Bridlington Urgent Treatment Centre
• patients having difficulty travelling to distant hospital appointments,
• the desperate shortage of NHS Dentists in Bridlington,
• the reduction of services despite a growing population,
• delays in patients being admitted to Scarborough Hospital from A+E,
• the lack of Palliative Care beds in Bridlington Hospital for patients receiving end-of-life care
• difficulty in accessing medical and medication records across different NHS providers,
• increasing mental health illness in younger people
• the frail elderly having to stand and wait outside GP practices for Covid-19 vaccinations.
The Health Forums Mission
Dr Clarke, the Forums Chair explained “BHF offers both listening ears and a voice for the people of Bridlington and surrounding areas. Our mission is to protect, restore, improve, and modernise the provision of health services in Bridlington and District as we attempt to hold to account our local healthcare providers, including the York and Scarborough Foundation.”
How residents can help
“We need many more residents who are prepared to raise their concerns with local Healthcare Providers, East Riding Councillors and Sir Greg Knight, our MP.
“We are facing increasing healthcare challenges in Bridlington, as are Driffield and Scarborough residents. BHF will raise these concerns at meetings with high level representatives of our Healthcare Providers later this month.
Join the Group
“You may like to join the BHF Facebook Group, along with 840 others, but if you wish to officially join BHF as a member, please email: assist.bridhealthforum@gmail.com.
The next meeting is on Thursday 21st July, 3-4.30pm at the Crown Buildings, Quay Road, YO16 4LS.
