CHURCH leaders from across Ryedale are calling on residents to campaign against further cuts at Malton Hospital.

The group Churches Together In Southern Ryedale, which represents Christian denominations in Malton, Norton and the surrounding villages, feels more needs to be done to prevent more services being lost and help restore those that have already been withdrawn.

The Rev Mike Smith, group chairman, said it felt decisions were being driven purely as cost saving measures without any thought to the effect on the local population.

He said: “It seems to us that while many eyes have been on the proposed new supermarket on the Wentworth Street site, a much more damaging situation has been gathering pace at Malton Hospital.

“First there was the maternity unit, then the surreptitious way Ryedale Ward has been ‘temporarily’ closed and now the withdrawal of minor operations and diagnostic services.”

Mr Smith said he had already received a letter from a man who had six appointments at Malton Hospital for treatment which will no longer be available.

“He calculates that if he had had to go to Scarborough it would have doubled the time spent on travel and treatment plus adding well over £150 to his travel costs.

“The residents of Ryedale need to come together, not only to say no more cuts, but also to campaign for the restoration of those services that have already been withdrawn.”

Anne McIntosh, MP for Thirsk, Malton and Filey, hosted a meeting on Friday regarding the future of the hospital, together with four members of the Primary Care Trust and GPs, as well as representatives from Ryedale LINk, The League of Friends of Malton Hospital, two Ryedale Division county councillors and the chairman of the county council scrutiny of health committee. Miss McIntosh said: “I believe the meeting was both constructive and positive and looking to the conclusion of the pilot project in March and exploring exactly what form the evaluation and consultation would take.

“Concerns were expressed at the lack of consultation prior to Ryedale Ward closing, leading to GPs, nurses, patients and Friends of the Hospital to think that beds would be removed but that a number of beds would remain.”

Miss McIntosh said there was a discussion on the study from the GPs at Derwent Practice, which concluded the need for a minimum number of beds in the Ryedale Ward at any one time to accommodate between nine and 16 patients.

She said: “Further concerns were raised at the removal of enhanced services such as complex drug monitoring and smoking cessation, and what this means for the future of services in Malton.”

Dr Michael Lynch, senior partner at Derwent Surgery, said: “It now remains to evaluate the six-month pilot. We will be working with the PCT’s public health doctors to ensure that the pilot is evaluated robustly and will push to have the original, high-quality ward which has a proven track-record reopened, should the need be demonstrated.”