NHS leaders say it is ‘not possible’ to offer services such as an A&E department at Newark Hospital following petition calling for its reinstatement.
Eli Wood, from Balderton, recently launched a petition urging health authorities to bring back the hospital’s A&E department, arguing that the lack of a full emergency service could put lives at risk.
However, the NHS body responsible for planning and funding healthcare in the region, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, said national policies mean it would not be safe or sustainable to operate an A&E unit at a hospital the size of Newark.
Newark Hospital, Urgent Treatment Centre
Newark’s A&E department closed in 2011 and was replaced with an urgent treatment centre that operated 24-hours until 2020.
The unit currently operates seven days a week from 8am to 10.30pm, with the last patient admitted at 9.30pm.
Since the closure of the A&E department, the nearest emergency department for Newark residents has been at King’s Mill Hospital, more than 20 miles away.
Mr Wood said the petition aims to make health authorities and Nottinghamshire County Council review the decision and consider reinstating an A&E at Newark Hospital.
But Maria Principe, executive director of commissioning at NHS Derby and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, said changes to national guidance since the department closed mean emergency services must be based in larger centres with specialist facilities.
She said: “In the fifteen years since Newark Hospital had an Accident & Emergency (A&E) department, updated national policies have been put in place to protect lives and improve patient outcomes.
“These are on the basis that it is not clinically sustainable, safe, or financially viable to operate an A&E service at sites the scale of Newark Hospital.
“This is because A&E departments require a large number of essential supporting services on the same site, to ensure critical patients have immediate access to them, such as 24-hour diagnostic services and critical care. It is not possible to offer all such services at Newark Hospital.
“Centralised services ensure that adults and children with more serious or life-threatening emergency needs receive treatment in centres with the right facilities, processes, and expertise in order to maximise their chances of survival and a good recovery.”
The Balderton resident said that the current situation could ‘make a difference between life and death’.