Plan could bring surgery back to Malton Hospital (From Gazette & Herald)

Plan could bring surgery back to Malton Hospital

ELECTIVE surgery could return to Malton Hospital in plans made public this week.

The area's Community Health Council (CHC) was told this week that community hospitals at Malton and Whitby have a major role to play in the future of health care, members of the area's community health council were told this week.

The assurance came from Michael Whitworth, chief executive of the Scarborough, Ryedale and Whitby Primary Care Trust (PCT) when he presented the new model for health services to the CHC.

In it, the PCT's clinical strategy project group, which produced the report, said of Malton Hospital: "It is intended to develop the hospital as a facility for the wider community by providing a wider range of services delivered from more modern and more flexible facilities."

The report said that, as at Whitby, the aim is to provide high-quality services locally, stating: "This is a key driver for change."

The Malton hospital plan includes providing a ward for intermediate care, where treatment in a patient's home is not appropriate but where transfer to Scarborough General is not needed.

In addition, says the report, it is planned to improve the range of rehabilitation services and facilities at Malton, and develop stroke rehabilitation services and a primary care emergency centre that links family doctors' out-of-hours services with the minor injuries service at Malton hospital.

Mr Whitworth said the aim is to strengthen the role of Malton Hospital as "a provider of day surgery services, either under local or general anaesthetic, and increasing the range of diagnostic services provided at Ryedale family doctor surgeries as well as the hospital.

He said it was hoped that elective surgery could be done at Malton hospital in the future. It had had to be suspended because of the difficulty in recruiting anaethetists.

"We can do it, if we can staff it," he said.

A similar policy is planned to improve services in the Whitby and Esk Valley area, said Mr Whitworth.

"We want to retain as many services as we can at Malton and Whitby."

He said the aim was to provide what he described as "sustainable and cost-effective care... we are aiming to do things to the highest possible standard and that is affordable."

Coun James Preston, the CHC chairman, said transport services were a major issue, especially in the remote rural areas.

Mr Whitworth replied: "Our strategic aim is to reduce the need for patients to travel."

Mike Wright, operations manager of the Tees, North and East Yorkshire Ambulance Trust, said some people were being transported by ambulance who had no need of the service, adding that there had been cases of patients asking for an ambulance because they did not want to pay the parking charges recently introduced at Scarborough General.

On dental services, the CHC, which was having its final meeting before the setting up of the new patients' forum, was told by Mr Whitworth that it was planned to invest more money in dental services as a result of an additional £35m Government funding being made available.

He said it was planned to recruit more young dentists for the area, many of whom would be from overseas, but registered in Britain.

"We are encouraging young dentists to come to the Ryedale, Scarborough and Whitby area."

Updated: 09:29 Wednesday, November 05, 2003