A CONSULTANT has warned that difficult decisions will have to be made if hospitals were to continue providing a quality service for patients.

Bob Aitken, Consultant and Clinical Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for Darlington and South West Durham NHS Trust, was speaking just days after a public meeting at Spennymoor Town Hall where people expressed concerns over plans to transfer women's and children's services from Bishop Auckland Hospital to Darlington Memorial.

Mr Aitken said if changes were not made in the way both Bishop Auckland and Darlington Memorial hospitals delivered these services there was a real possibility that they could lose them altogether.

He said: "We have got to think of ourselves as a single trust with two sites rather than two separate hospitals and there are certain issues we have to address.''

At the moment each hospital has four consultants and four junior doctors working in gynaecology and obstetrics.

But Mr Aitken said because of the European Working Directive there had to be a dramatic reduction on the hours that junior doctors work.

He said that the recommendations by Professor Ara Darzi, published in February, looked at the long term effect this would have on the trust and stated that it needed to work towards having all eight consultants and junior doctors under one roof.

He said: "I am passionate about providing high quality care to the patients of Darlington and South West Durham and it is with a heavy heart that this decision needs to be made.

"In comparison to other trusts we are very small and other small hospitals are also going to suffer."

He explained that if members of the public voted to keep the service as it is, then in the very near future it could lose creditation from the Royal College.

This would have a knock-on effect on the cost of the service and attracting consultants to the hospitals and the eventual loss of the service.

The plans are the subject of a series of six public consultation meetings. The next one is on May 13, at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington.

* The new Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, is holding a series of public meetings to share ideas with residents, the first of which will be held at the Masonic Hall, Victoria Avenue, Bishop Auckland, on Thursday, May 16, 7pm to 9pm.

For a copy of Professor Ara Darzi's recommendations, to be discussed by the trust, call Tina Young on (0191) 3333382.