Bus cuts will leave nurses stranded, union says

Stagecoach said it was losing money on the routes

Planned cuts to some bus services will leave nurses and other healthcare workers "stranded", a union has said.

Stagecoach said it would end the 18 and 18A routes in Sunderland, as well as the evening services on the number 7 in Newcastle from 11 May.

Unison's Newcastle hospitals branch said the "disgraceful" cuts would hit staff at the Freeman Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital, and force them to seek "more expensive" transport.

The bus firm said losses on the routes had become "unsustainable".

The 18 and 18A services travel between Gilley Law and Sunderland city centre via Sunderland Royal Hospital, while the number 7 goes between the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and Gateshead's Metrocentre.

Unison official and nurse Linda Hobson said the cuts would affect the ability of NHS staff to arrive to work on time and "will leave many staff members at both [hospitals] stranded".

"[This] can affect patient care and overall hospital operations," she said.

Staff would be forced to seek alternative transport, which was likely to be "more expensive and time consuming", she said.

She said the union urged Stagecoach to "reconsider" its decision.

'Stop doing what I enjoy'

West Denton resident Donna Marie, who regularly uses the number 7 bus, said the loss of the evening service would massively affect her social life.

She said she regularly took the bus to meet friends but after the service was cut, that same journey would take two buses.

"I'll probably just stop going and not do what I enjoy doing," she said. "I'm not going to pay for a taxi."

She said the cuts would also impact locals who relied on the service to go to social clubs.

"People... are going to have to leave earlier or they just won't go out," she said.

Stagecoach North East head Steve Walker previously said: "With recent changes to National Insurance contributions on top of general inflationary pressures, the losses on these services have become unsustainable."