Ryedale's MP is to raise concerns over the frequent closure of Malton Hospital's Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC).

Kevin Hollinrake MP for Thirsk and Malton said the situation was not acceptable and he had written to the Integrated Care Board.

The UTC at Malton Hospital, which is now run by a separate company. has been closed to the public on a number of occasions recently.
One patient posted on social media that they had travelled from Kirkbymoorside at 1.30pm to Malton Hospital to attend the UTC.
"The website says is open for walk in 9am-8pm. It was closed with a sign in the window. Such a shame as a brilliant facility, but obviously under resourced. What would it take to get this facility up and running as it was many years ago? There's got to be a need in such a large, rural area sandwiched between York and Scarborough."

Mr Hollinrake said: "The situation with Malton hospital is not acceptable. The hospital states it is open for a set amount of hours per week and continues to be closed, meaning local residents are travelling many miles for urgent care or being forced to use local practices which are not equipped to deal with such cases.

"I wrote to the Integrated Care Board last week to raise this as a matter of urgency and have pressed them again today for a response. I will update constituents as soon as I have more information.

The UTC is now run by Totally, a company set up to 'help address the challenges of increased demand for healthcare services.'
The company's website says: "We help healthcare commissioners and hospitals ensure patients can access the most appropriate care quickly and efficiently by delivering quality urgent care services such as NHS 111 and urgent treatment centres, and elective care services such as community dermatology clinics and first contact practitioner."
A spokesperson said: "We continue to experience unprecedented demands within healthcare. In order to support the wider healthcare system there are occasions where we consolidate services in key locations to ensure that all people can access care. There have been occasions during March and April where, in conjunction with commissioners, we have had to made the decision to close the UTC service at Malton and direct patients to sites in York or Scarborough. The safety of patients is our utmost priority and when closures need to happen we ensure that urgent home visits are maintained through our GP out of hour services."