HOSPITAL bosses deliberately reduced demand for day surgery at an under-threat community hospital in order to justify its closure, according to leaked reports.

Councillor Owen Temple, a member of the minority Liberal Democrat group on Derwentside District Council, passed two reports on the future of Shotley Bridge District Hospital to The Northern Echo.

The reports, by independent consultants Tribal, have been circulated to members of the council and to senior NHS managers, but have not been made public.

Coun Temple said the report had found evidence that the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust had undermined the viability of the day surgery unit while claiming it was underused.

He said: "Buried in the independent report is the shocking statement that declining use of the service arises from 'the active reduction in scheduled sessions, and subsequent activity, as day surgery activity is diverted to their other sites to support their plans to close the Shotley Bridge Day Surgery Unit'."

The councillor said he felt sorry for the patients in Derwentside who - quoting the report - "have repeatedly and consistently expressed their desire to see the retention and development of healthcare services in Derwentside, with particular reference to Shotley Bridge Hospital".

When the County Durham hospital trust first raised the issue of closing the day surgery unit more than a year ago, there was an outcry from the district council and local GPs.

The hospital trust reacted by deferring a planned six-month temporary closure of the day surgery unit at the hospital and agreeing to the viability study.

Councillor Alex Watson, leader of the district council, said: "This has confirmed my worst fears that there was a deliberate plan to refer people elsewhere, to Chester-le-Street hospital or to the University Hospital of North Durham."

But Coun Watson said the overall message from the report is that there is a positive future for Shotley Bridge Hospital and a local demand for day surgery.

One of the options is to run the hospital separate from the existing trust and in conjunction with GPs.

A spokeswoman for County Durham Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust said there are "no anticipated plans for service change" until discussions have taken place.

She added that the trust remained "strongly committed" to continuing to meet Derwentside's health needs