HOSPITAL patients in Ryedale have been dealt a double blow just two weeks after a key ward at Malton Hospital was re-opened.

The hospital’s operating theatre is to be closed and the pain clinic at Scarborough Hospital, used by many Ryedale residents, is likely to shut at the end of next month.

Mike Proctor, chief executive at the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, said that as part of an annual check, the ventilation systems in the operating theatres at both Malton and Whitby hospitals have been found to be performing below the required standards. As a result, consultants who use the theatres have agreed to suspend them from this week.

Mr Proctor said: “Patients due to attend for procedures such as endoscopies will be contacted and will have their appointment rescheduled at an alternative hospital.”

“We know that this is inconvenient and potentially worrying for these patients, and we apologise for this.”

Mr Procter added: “To bring these theatres up to standard will require significant investment. We will work with the Primary Care Trust which will make the investment decision.”

“The closure is a precautionary measure based on the need to preserve high standards of patient safety.

“We believe the risk to patients to be relatively small and there is no evidence of increased wound infections among patients who have recently undergone procedures at either Malton or Whitby hospitals. However, if those patients have any concerns, we would advise them to contact their GP.”

The pain clinic’s future is also threatened as the PCT is due to withdraw its funding by the end of July.

Dr Don Jones, who has run the clinic for 28 years, said the quality of life for its patients would suffer and in some cases it would result in people suffering more pain or losing their jobs.

He said he was anxious for senior officers of the PCT to meet the pain group clinic members to discuss the crisis because if it folds, patients will have no alternative but to go for treatment privately.

“The clinic aids many patients with chronic pain conditions and it was a lifeline for many of them,” he said.

County Coun Jim Clark, chairman of North Yorkshire’s health scrutiny committee, described the news as “very disappointing”.

He said: “I accept there were problems with the ventilation systems; work which should have been carried out several years ago.

“There is a concern about the risk of infection if it isn’t done.”

On the pain clinic’s future, he said that he was to meet Dr Jones and Primary Care Trust officers in the hope of finding ways to enable the clinic to continue.

“It is a very valuable facility and one which is much needed,” he added.

Sheila Miller, chairman of Ryedale LINk, which hosted a public meeting on the future of health care in the area on Monday, said they had been told that any decision on the future of the operating theatre had to be cost-effective.

“Bridlington Hospital faced a similar problem and costs there were estimated at £500,000,” she added.

“The problem is that the theatre at Malton was last updated about 25 years ago and they need to be very careful when patients are involved.”

Mrs Miller added that they hoped the operating theatre would re-open as soon as possible.

“The number of operations carried out there is not enormous so it will not impact much on the waiting list.

“This is a strategic decision due to patient safety, therefore we have no alternative but to go along with the closure.

“It is a shame but we must now wait for a financial decision on what is the most cost-effective option.”