Scarborough Hospital to lose breast oncology outpatient services

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said that breast oncology outpatient services will be withdrawn from 5 March meaning that patients will have to travel to York for appointments.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “For over ten years, oncology services have been provided at Scarborough Hospital by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. However, due tomedical staffing constraints both nationally and regionally, the service is struggling to be maintained which may have an impact on waiting times and, potentially, clinical outcomes due to delays in reviews and treatments.

“As a result, Hull will stop providing the service at Scarborough Hospital from 5 March 2019. To ensure patients can be seen in a timely manner, all breast oncology outpatient appointments will take place at York Hospital.

“Our priority as a Trust is to ensure that patients are seen by a highly skilled specialist as quickly as possible. Given the current staffing constraints, we have made the decision to provide this service in a single location to make best use of the specialist clinical staff we have available.

“The provision of chemotherapy is not affected, and will continue to be provided in its current locations, including Scarborough and Bridlington.

“We apologise for the impact this will have on some patients. We remain committed to a service on the East Coast, however, the recruitment position is such that this is no longer sustainable in the medium term, and we have carefully considered how we can deliver a service that means patients are seen quickly and within national guidelines.”