NO guarantees could be given about the future of the current accident and emergency service and maternity service at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, a senior health official told a public meeting on Thursday of last week.

Pressed to commit to retaining A&E at its current level at the hospital for the next five years, Simon Kirk, chief executive of Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust, was unable to give a commitment.

The meeting heard that the Government aimed to have every A&E unit treat 30,000 patients a year. The Friarage unit saw about 14,000 because much of its catchment area was sparsely populated and rural.

There was a similar "numbers game" with maternity: the Friarage saw about 1,350 births compared with the Government target of 4,000 births at a district maternity unit.

Coun John Blackie, chairman of the county council health scrutiny committee, said a casualty department and a maternity service must be available in Northallerton 24 hours a day.

The PCT assured the meeting that an A&E service would continue at the Friarage, but a study was looking at the sort of trauma which would be handled there.

The PCT and South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Friarage, are a year into a review of services prompted by a shortage of specialist doctors, the curbing of junior doctors' long hours and difficulty attracting and retaining staff in some areas.

An initial study led to a more in-depth look at how accident and emergency, maternity, general surgery and anaesthetics would be organised in future.

The trust pledged last month that there were no plans to close the maternity unit and four more junior doctors have been recruited to the specialism across the trust's hospitals in Northallerton and Middlesbrough.

There was standing room only at last week's meeting in Wensleydale.

Another public meeting will be held at Northallerton on Thursday.