Hospital ops hope dashed (From Gazette & Herald)

Hospital ops hope dashed

MALTON Hospital is to become the health care centre for Ryedale - but hopes that operations needing general anaesthetics could be carried out there again have been dashed.

Kevin Pulford, a director of the Scarborough, Ryedale and Whitby Primary Care Trust (PCT), told Ryedale District Council's overview and scrutiny committee that its aim was to have people in the northern part of the district, along the A170 corridor, use the hospital - which is to get £2.8 million-worth of improvements - rather than having to travel to Scarborough Hospital.

He told councillors that the PCT wants to see patients who have to have treatment at Scarborough transferred to Malton to recuperate "as quickly as possible". But he did not foresee a return for operations requiring general anaesthetics at community hospitals such as Malton's.

As well as improvements to the Fitzwilliam Ward, better accommodation for patients and staff, additional ward facilities, and flexible use of beds, the hospital's reception area was to get a new look, said Mr Pulford.

Coun Allin Jenkins said the improvements would allay fears for the hospital, which had for some time had a question mark hanging over its future.

"There is a lot of support for the hospital. These developments will make a lot of people very happy," he said.

Meanwhile, councillors heard that the authority's handling of complaints was an issue which required immediate attention.

Performance manager Phil Hancock said in a report: "There are very low levels of satisfaction in dealing with complaints."

But he added that the council was performing well on dealing with staff absence due to sickness.

He said that while in the past Ryedale District Council had performed above average on the majority of its services, difficulties in recruitment in the past year had had a "significant impact" on development control and housing benefits.

The staffing position had now improved, said Mr Hancock, and as result performance in the two sections had also improved.

Updated: 12:56 Monday, May 03, 2004