No plans for further cuts at hospitals, say trusts

NHS bosses insist they have no plans to close or reduce services at two rural hospitals despite concerns for their future.

Two NHS trusts have acknowledged that some clinics had been withdrawn at North Cambridgeshire Hospital in Wisbech and Doddington Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

A report due before Cambridgeshire County Council's Health Scrutiny Committee on 1 October said there were concerns about healthcare access in deprived Fenland communities.

It stated: "Residents experience some of the highest levels of deprivation, health inequality and transport-related barriers to accessing healthcare in the East of England.

"Provision of healthcare services to patients across Fenland is of key importance to the local NHS."

Doddington and North Cambridgeshire hospitals provide community services such as X-rays, outpatient clinics and treatment for minor injuries.

The report highlighted "significant challenges" at both sites, including difficulties recruiting staff, replacing ageing equipment and meeting increasing clinical standards.

In Wisbech, endoscopy services were relocated to King's Lynn, Norfolk, while in Doddington, breast surgery, dermatology and ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinics were either withdrawn or temporarily suspended.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, which provides services in Wisbech, acknowledged "significant local concern" about the endoscopy changes.

It said the move was temporary for six months while the service is reviewed, adding that "no final decision has been taken" on its long-term future.

The trust said: "There has been no single strategic decision or programme of planned service reductions at North Cambridgeshire Hospital."

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which provides outpatient and radiology services in Doddington, also said it "understands that there are no plans to close or withdraw services".

It said a breast pain clinic could not continue beyond a pilot period because funding ended and it lacked "appropriately trained nursing staff".

The trust said ENT clinics had been suspended for about a year because of staff vacancies, while a dermatology clinic closed after a senior dermatologist retired last year.

The report says £11.7m has been invested in buildings, equipment and infrastructure at the Wisbech and Doddington sites over the past three years.

In Wisbech, plans are in place to install a mobile X-ray unit by the end of the month, while work continues on proposals for a wider overhaul of the radiology department.

The trust said it has been considering introducing additional cardiology, gynaecology and post-menopausal bleeding clinics.

In Doddington, there are plans to reintroduce ENT services within the next six months. The trust also said there was "additional activity" in several areas such as paediatrics, geriatric medicine and urology.

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