Bishop Auckland Hospital ward closure plan sparks anger

Bishop Auckland Hospital lost its A&E department in 2009

The possible axing of a ward at a hospital previously hit by closures has sparked anger among campaigners.

Health chiefs said they are consulting over closing a recuperation ward at Bishop Auckland Hospital.

Councillor Sam Zair, who previously fought the closure of the hospital's A&E unit, said: "Here we go again."

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said it had to be "flexible" with resources to provide "quality care".

Mr Zair, who represents Bishop Auckland on Durham County Council, said sources told him ward six, which is for people who have received treatment but are not yet ready to go home, would stop accepting new patients at the end of October.

He also said he had been told the ward was closing so staff could be redeployed to cover shortages at hospitals in Durham and Darlington.

'Centre of excellence'

Mr Zair said: "[It] is a good ward which gets good feedback.

"Closure will just put more pressure on the system elsewhere as people could be released from hospital much too early."

A trust spokesperson said it was consulting staff about "consolidating services at Bishop Auckland with opportunities for staff to move and support services on other sites".

Possible change "can be unsettling" but staff would be supported, they added.

They also said Bishop Auckland Hospital "continues to play an important role" and is a "centre of excellence" for orthopaedic surgery as well as being the recent recipient of a new £1m MRI scanner.

Mr Zair was one of 22,500 people across the Wear Valley and Teesdale area of County Durham who opposed the closure of the A&E in 2009.

Then, the trust said focussing A&E in Durham and Darlington while offering rehabilitation services at Bishop Auckland would provide the best quality of care.