Bridlington and the Wolds MP Charlie Dewhirst has spoken out against the closure of the Bridlington Care Unit.
“The final decision by the Board of York and Scarborough NHS Trust to permanently close the Bridlington Hospital Care Unit is deeply frustrating and I completely share local residents’ disappointment and anger at this.
“It also should absolutely not have taken nearly 6,000 signatures on my petition to Parliament to make the NHS Trust bother with any public consultation whatsoever, or realise the strength of local feeling and apologise for their complete lack of it. The pause, review of local concerns and public engagement we secured was the minimum that local people deserved in the first place.
“Now that the decision has been made, we urgently need the hospital’s NHS Trust and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB) to set out a clear plan that includes any transition period plan and detailing exactly how the needs of Bridlington patients will be met going forward through their proposed “community-based model of care”. No detail was given yesterday about the nature or length of any transition arrangements and residents across the area deserve clarity, not more uncertainty over the future of the hospital site.
“That is something I will be scrutinising very closely going forward. There remain real concerns for the NHS to address about whether our current local community and social care infrastructure has the capacity to meet the demand. I will therefore be seeking regular updates from the NHS on this community-based model rollout – as well as the Trust developing and making better use of Bridlington Hospital as their own engagement identified – and will not hesitate to robustly challenge them if this is not delivered.
“In that light, if local residents face examples or evidence of the new community-based rehabilitation or social care support not meeting the NHS’s promise, please do send it through to me to raise with them: charlie.dewhirst.mp@parliament.uk”
