Staff speak out over job and bed cuts at Barnard Castle's Richardson Hospital

JOBS at a dale community hospital have been left in jeopardy after health chiefs announced plans to downsize.
Healthcare assistants at Richardson Community Hospital, in Barnard Castle, have been given 45 days to find a job in another hospital or decide whether they will willingly leave or retire. Otherwise they will be re-interviewed and could face being made jobless. A meeting was called last Thursday during which staff were informed that the number of beds on the Starling ward would be cut from 24 to 16. County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust says this is sufficient to cope with current demand.
Concerns were initially raised about the hospital in October 2015 when the bed numbers were significantly reduced following the sudden closure of the Lowson ward.
The trust denied the move was permanent and said it was a temporary measure until “staffing issues” were resolved.
However, 21 months on, staff have been told the ward will not be reopening. Instead the hospital is downsizing further which will make it a third of its former size – a move described by one town resident as “death by a thousand cuts”.
One employee at the hospital said: “Over the last three months and previous to that we have had more than 16 beds filled at all given times. We have been running on nearly full for months.
“This is just another way of trying to close it. They are chipping away at the edges all the time. We want to keep Richardson Hospital open because of what it offers to the people around here.”
A trust spokesperson said: “Patient safety is a priority for us and staffing levels at the Richardson Hospital will continue to meet national guidelines.  We are consulting with staff and no job losses are planned as we have vacancies across the trust.”
However, staff have been left worried and there are reports that staff walked out of the meeting in tears.
Another hospital employee said: “They are downsizing rapidly and are going to be getting rid of some healthcare assistants. You can either leave willingly, retire or ask them to find you a job in another hospital.
“If you don’t come forward within 45 days you will be re-interviewed for your job. If you don’t pass the interview they will try to allocate you a job at somewhere like Bishop Auckland or Darlington. If you don’t like it, you are unemployed. Some people choose to work in the town because they don’t drive.”
It is believed that the equivalent to one part-time and three full-time positions must be axed.
One employee said: “For 16 patients there will be two healthcare assistants getting them up on a morning. Yes you can do it but where is the care? There will be more pressure.
“We care about our patients and our community. We will go that extra mile for them but it will be harder.
“I just feel that they don’t care anymore. We lost the community hospital when they shut one of the wards last year.
“I always thought the hospital would never shut but to be in the same position as we were in a year ago, this time next year will they be telling us it is shut?”
County councillor Richard Bell, who is a member of the county council’s health scrutiny committee, raised the matter at last Friday’s meeting with Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group chief clinical officer Dr Stewart Findley.
Cllr Bell said: “This further loss of beds after they consolidated from two wards to one last year is concerning.  The main reason for this is Darlington pulling out of using the Richardson.
“However, we were told the eight beds taken out will be mothballed ready for use in the winter if needed and the CCG wish to continue to use and expand the services offered at the Richardson, not least because there is  a huge mortgage from the private finance initiative deal which built it which would still have to be paid if the hospital closed.
“The Richardson is a very important asset in a rural area like Teesdale and we must all be vigilant in its protection.”
A health trust spokesperson said: “We have looked at how we use the beds at the Richardson Hospital for our patients and, based on existing and projected occupancy levels, we know that 16 beds will continue to meet the needs of the local communities.
“We would like to assure patients and their families that should demand increase we have the flexibility to open additional beds at very short notice, although we don’t anticipate this will be necessary.”