Filey and Hunmanby branch of the Labour Party hits out at movement of hospital services to York

They have compiled a list of more than 30 services which have already been moved to York, they say mostly on the grounds of creating Centres of Excellence.

Jo Burton, of the Filey and Hunmanby branch of the Labour party, said: "While no-one would dispute the need for excellence in health care, it is extremely frustrating to place that centre of excellence in a place which, for many people, is too far away.

"One local resident, told us this - 'I was given an appointment at 9.30am in the morning, and we could only get there for that time by staying overnight in York - it was a very expensive trip for me and my husband, but we felt we had to do it'.”

She said most recently, the stroke unit was moved from Scarborough Hospital to York Hospital, primarily because of a lack of stroke consultants and other appropriately qualified staff and that there had been criticism of the performance of the York stroke unit at a recent North Yorkshire Healthwatch meeting.

"This raises many questions about adequate funding of the NHS," said Jo, "and we know that funding currently stands at only half of what it was 2010 when the Tories first came into office.

"We also know, from the recent pandemic, that we are not safe unless we are all safe, and that means providing adequate healthcare for us all, and not just those who can afford to pay.

"Our coastal communities have already been identified by Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, as being poorly served - and it is important that we begin to redress that situation."