Chorley A&E reopening delayed due to lack of doctors

The department has been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic

An emergency department will not reopen as planned after a trust revealed that not enough doctors had been recruited.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust "temporarily downgraded" Chorley and South Ribble Hospital's facility in March as part of Covid-19 plans, but were due to reopen it in September.

It said it had only taken on half of the "middle-grade" doctors needed, but "remained committed" to reopening.

Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was "failing" the town.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service found that while the additional middle-grade doctor requirement at the facility had been reduced to 10, only half of that number had so far accepted offers to work at the trust.

It said other offers were outstanding and more interviews were due to take place.

It also found that of the extra two consultants needed for the redesigned unit, only one had currently been confirmed.

'Kicking and screaming'

Sir Lindsay said he and two other MPs - Ribble Valley's Nigel Evans and South Ribble's Kathryn Fletcher - would be holding an "emergency meeting" with Health Secretary Matt Hancock to address the situation.

He said that while the "dedicated heroes who operate hospitals" deserved praise, "somehow the management always fails them and the people I represent".

"Why give us a date to reopen in September and then, at the end of September, say 'sorry, we haven’t recruited the staff'."

He added that he did not believe there was "ever any real intention" to reopen, adding: "What’s happened to the staff? Why didn't we just bring them back?"

Mr Evans said the trust had been "dragged, kicking and screaming, towards reopening anyway, because they don't really want to do it - but the health secretary has said that they must".

"If they can't do it, they should move aside for people who can deliver," he added.

The trust's chief executive Karen Partington said while it remained "committed to restoring services as quickly as possible", no new timeframe for reopening could be given.

"Despite this setback, the trust board is steadfast in its commitment to investing in Chorley and South Ribble."

The long-term future of the emergency department, which was found not to be "clinically viable" in a 2019 report, remains in doubt.

It has been operating on a part-time basis for three years and spent much of 2016 closed.