Campaigners fighting against the loss of the A&E at the Friarage Hospital have called on Rishi Sunak MP to publish a report by consultants.
The report was commissioned by the Richmond MP after South Tees NHS Foundation Trust replaced the accident and emergency unit at the Northallerton hospital with an urgent treatment centre.
The report by recruitment firm Carnall Farrar looked into recruitment issues, specifically for anaesthetists, which hospital bosses said were at the centre of the need to make changes at the hospital.
The report was due to be made public at the end of April.
Holly Wilkinson, from the Save the Friarage campaign, said: “Rishi Sunak released a statement telling people that he would be personally commissioning a report to be done into the staffing crisis at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust regarding the sudden downgrade of the accident and emergency department to and urgent treatment centre on 27 March 2019.
“We have asked for this to be released to be told that it wasn’t ready and they didn’t have it.
“Why has it taken so long to publish? As part of the court case that we have going on at the moment, our legal team have also requested this information from Rishi’s office to be told that they haven’t got it.”
In response, Mr Sunak said publication of the report had been delayed because he wanted to ensure the work was thoroughly comprehensive and he had asked the consultants to carry out additional work.
“The issues the consultants have been investigating are complex and multi-factored. It has taken longer than expected to carry out the analysis and speak to all the stakeholders.
“As I have said previously, I will leave no stone unturned to ensure all avenues have been explored to ensure we retain the best possible emergency services at the Friarage. Key to that is making sure this extensive report does its job.”
Mr Sunak said he was hopeful the report would be completed and published within a fortnight.
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