A campaign to reopen the A&E department at a town’s hospital has been reignited after it closed 14 years ago.
Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison has been campaigning to reopen the emergency centre in her constituency since she was elected but has now stepped up her efforts to gauge further public opinion.
A petition on the issue was launched in August 2022 and saw campaigners gather outside Bishop Auckland Hospital to appeal for its reopening.
The hospital’s A&E was closed in 2009 and residents have been forced to travel 12 miles to either Darlington Memorial Hospital or University Hospital Durham for emergency care.
The facility was closed 14 years ago after a clinical review into services at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust found there was insufficient clinical staff and essential support services required to support the department at the hospital.
“Communities across Bishop, Teesdale and the Wear Valley were told their services wouldn’t suffer when the A&E at Bishop Auckland Hospital was closed, but this hasn’t been true,” said Davison.
“Wait times at Durham and Darlington are too long and getting worse, and the added journey time for ambulances puts families and vulnerable people in danger.”
The County Durham MP promised to campaign for the reopening of the hospital in her 2019 election campaign in but says she didn’t want to put additional pressure on the NHS during the covid pandemic. But after saying she won't stand at the next election in May 2024, time is running out.
She added: “Since 2019 I have fought, publicly and in private, for the return of the hospital services we had taken away from us under the last Labour government.
“But I can’t do it alone. By signing up to support my campaign you will join residents from across our area in fighting to bring back Bishop’s A&E, keeping our loved ones safe and bringing more jobs and footfall to the local economy.
“I've been overwhelmed by the amount of support we've received for our campaign to bring back Bishop's A&E, and I want to keep you updated every step of the way.”
Speaking in support of the reopening outside the hospital last year, Phil Davids, 63, said: “It’d be great for the town. I never got why they closed it in the first place when Durham and Darlington are such a way away.”
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Another supporter of the campaign, Sue Elliott from Coundon, said: “When I had an episode where I passed out unconscious my husband had to get me in the car and take me all the way to Darlington.
“This would be a five-minute drive instead of a 25-minute drive – it’d make a massive difference.”
But others are not fully supportive of the campaign. Sam Rushworth, Labour’s candidate for Bishop Auckland at the next general election, said: “As a Bishop Auckland resident, I’d love it if the A&E was closer to home, but as Labour’s candidate at the next General Election, I want to be honest with people about the scale of the challenges we face and what I think our priorities should be.
“Since 2010, Dehenna Davison’s own party in government has sent the NHS into crisis – understaffed and underfunded - making an A&E in Bishop impossible without either a massive increase in trained staff across the NHS or creating a dangerous hole in provision elsewhere."
A public meeting will take place on Friday at 5.30pm at Bishop Auckland Football Club, Stadium Way, Saint Helen Auckland, DL14 9AE.
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