Trust 'mothballs' hospital ward

A County Durham health trust is mothballing a ward at a community hospital because not enough patients are using it.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust says the move will mean the closure of 19 beds at Shotley Bridge Hospital near Consett.

The trust said the decision would not impact on any other services.

Derwentside District Council said it is "disappointed" at the move and feared the site may now be facing closure.

The hospital has 69 beds and offers gynaecology, day surgery and outpatient services. It also has a medical investigation unit and provides clinics in partnership with the University Hospital of North Durham.

'Permanent closure'

In a statement the trust said: "County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has mothballed a ward at Shotley Bridge Hospital, due to low occupancy.

"There is a wide range of services delivered from Shotley Bridge Hospital and this current change will not impact on those services.

"The trust is reducing beds on all sites in line with the move of more care into primary care settings and the requirement to operate more efficiently by increasing bed occupancy levels."

Derwentside District Council leader Alex Watson said: "While we have been assured by the foundation trust that this is a mothballing exercise, no-one can be surprised to discover that people in Derwentside will see this as a merely a staging post on the way to permanent closure."

The council said it planned to meet with local GP representatives to discuss the situation.