THE family of a six-year-old boy who was forced to wait more than five-and-a-half hours at York Hospital’s A&E department say it is vital services in Malton are maintained.

Jack Moore, who lives in Norton, was taken to York after falling down the stairs on Saturday evening.

His grandmother, Sue Cottle, said at first he had appeared to be alright, and as Malton Hospital Minor Injuries Unit (MIU)was closed, they decided to wait and take him there on Monday if needed.

She said: “By 10pm his ankle had swollen up, so his mum, Emma, rang York Hospital and was told to take him through and they would have a look at him.

“Emma doesn’t drive so she had to phone her sister Charlotte for a lift.”

Mrs Cottle said they got to the hospital by 11pm but Jack was not seen by a doctor until 4.15am.

She said: “He was there in his pyjamas waiting all that time with all the drunks coming in, some of them with their faces bleeding, which really upset Jack.

“At one point his mum had to go and get security as they were all really scared.”

Mrs Cottle said she was in full support of retaining the MIU’s opening hours seven days a week.

She said: “My son works at a local racing stable and he was kicked in the head by a horse the week before and taken straight up to Malton Hospital,” she said.

“If it had happened at the weekend he would have had to go York or Scarborough.”

Jack’s mum, Emma, said they had been booked in at A&E at 11.08pm and seen by a nurse within 10 minutes.

“We were then left for more than five hours. It was horrendous. Jack was getting really restless and wanted to come home,” she said.

“When a doctor did eventually see him they said he had damaged some ligaments and we finally got home at 5am.”

A petition signed by more than 10,000 people was handed to Simon Cox, chief operating officer for NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), last week as part of the campaign to reinstate opening hours at the MIU at Malton Hospital.

The campaign, backed by the Gazette & Herald, was launched in November after it was announced the opening hours of the MIU were to be reduced from 8am to 9.30pm, seven days a week, to just 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

District councillor Lindsay Burr (Lib Dem), said more and more cases like Jack’s were coming to light.

“These situations aren’t being taken into account and many people have said to me that they will just all for an ambulance which is not saving money in the long run,” she said.

“What has happened to Jack and many others shows how important our campaign has been. Thousands of people have agreed and we can only hope that the CCG sits up and takes notice.”

Dr Michael Lynch, senior partner at Derwent Practice in Malton, who met Mr Cox for talks before the petition hand-over, said one of the suggestions made was the practice taking over some responsibility for running the MIU.

“It is disappointing that the temporary closure does not appear to be that temporary,” he said.

“Ideas and suggestions have been put forward which we need to discuss as a practice to see if we can put people in there, as obviously it has an effect elsewhere.”

Dr Lynch said: “Negotiations are still on-going but it is an uphill battle and unfortunately the majority of people on the CCG see this area as one where savings can be made.”

A review of the impact of the reduced hours at the MIU is currently underway and an interim report will be presented to the CCG governing body at its next meeting later this month.