Pre-engagement- Shotley Bridge Community Hospital Services

Healthwatch County Durham attended four out of eight engagement events in April and May 2019 held by the North Durham CCG to find out from people what they thought of options for future services at Shotley Bridge Community Hospital.  Their role was to listen to and understand people’s concerns and identify any trends or recommendations to the NDCCG.

Findings and conclusions

Better advertising of future events should be considered, being specific about times as some people thought the events were “drop in” and therefore missed part of the presentation. Using a broader range of methods, could result in more people attending. Some events were far better attended than others.

In the group sessions it was a challenge to get though all the topics in the time available and some groups felt rushed so this may be something the organisers want to consider for future events.

The presentations made it quite clear that this was pre-engagement and that no final decisions had been made, however some people still felt strongly that the hospital was going to close. People present at the events listened carefully to what they were being told and raised some valid points and concerns, although there was a lot for them to take in.

It was clear that the current hospital is well regarded by patients and families and they spoke a lot about the quality, consistency and friendliness of staff, which is something they would not like to lose.

Current Urgent Care was raised and there were comments made that the services available at Shotley Bridge were not being offered by 111 call handlers. Clarification would be helpful.

Travel was one of the main issues raised throughout the 4 events attended and will need to be one of the key considerations for decision makers to give assurance to the people in the community.

Giving further detail about the cost implications for decisions to be made in the future would be valuable as people asked about cost comparisons.