"The
Secretary of State for Health announced in January that the
Government fully supported the recommendations of the
Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for the reconfiguration
of maternity and paediatric services at North Tees and
Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Trust. It was recommended that the
existing, out-of-date hospital buildings should be replaced by a
modern hospital on a new, well situated location accessible to
the people of Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Easington and
Sedgefield.
The I.R.P. recommended that until a new hospital opened, consultant-led maternity and paediatric care should be centralised at University Hospitals of North Tees, with a midwifery-led unit and a hospital assessment unit for children at the University Hospital of Hartlepool. This recommendation was in line with independent advice and national policy, and was intended to ensure that services were safe and sustainable.
The location of the new facility has yet to be decided. However, informal preliminary discussions have already taken place to ascertain the initial views of stakeholders and to identify options. This will be followed early next year by formal, open consultation, which will give all the people of Teesside the opportunity to put forward their views.
A new hospital facility should not be seen in isolation: it is not a matter of closing down services. Instead, it is about changing the way services are delivered in order to ensure they continue to meet the high standards that local people deserve. The changes to maternity and paediatric services will be supported by changes to transport systems, and by new developments in community-based services for the people of Teesside.
The Government hopes that the changes are recognised as necessary. The changes will ensure that the care provided locally is of the highest standard. Ministers trust that all local stakeholders will now work together to implement the changes, to end what has been a period of uncertainty, and to secure the best possible maternity and children's care for the people of North Tees and Hartlepool."