The Chair of the Bridlington Health Forum (BHF), Dr Anthony Clarke, has praised local leaders and residents following a public panel event held recently at the Spa to discuss the future of health services in the town.
The panel included Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst; Simon Cox, Place Director for the East Riding at the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB); Martin Barkley, Chair of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Andy Kingdom, Director of Public Health at ERYC; and Cllr Andy Walker of Bridlington South.
The forum heard emotional testimonies from Bridlington residents about their personal experiences of healthcare in the town, which campaigners say underline the urgent need for a Bridlington Health Improvement Plan.
The ICB has now committed to developing a plan covering a wide range of services, including prevention, primary care, dentistry, hospital care, diagnostics, rehabilitation, social care and mental health. Progress will be monitored through the Bridlington Multi-Agency Meeting, where forum representatives will scrutinise the delivery of each area of the plan.
However, while welcoming the commitment, the BHF says it will continue to push for clearer targets and timescales to ensure improvements are delivered at pace.
“Bridlington has long faced deep healthcare inequalities,” the Chair said. “We will keep working constructively with the ICB and ERYC, but will press them to go further and faster so residents get the services they deserve.”
