MP has 'serious questions' over hospital's future

Former Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said there are "serious questions" over the future of a community hospital in his constituency.

Doddington Hospital in Cambridgeshire provides outpatient care as well as a minor injuries unit.

Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire, said services including dermatology "are no longer being provided", while audiology had been paused.

Charlotte Williams, from the NHS trust which runs outpatient clinic services and X-ray facilities at the hospital, said it was working with "commissioners to review a neighbourhood health model that delivers integrated care and better support for people with long-term conditions".

Williams, deputy chief executive officer at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, added: "This includes a wider range of outpatient clinics providing specialist and on-going support closer to home for local residents."

The local integrated care board said: "Doddington Hospital remains an important part of our local health landscape, providing a range of services.

"We continue to work with our NHS providers and partners to support the development of a Neighbourhood Health Service, in line with the government's 10 Year Plan, providing joined-up care that meets the needs of communities now and in the future."

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the hospital and runs its minor injuries unit, has been contacted by the BBC.

Barclay, writing on Facebook, said: "Serious questions remain over the future of services at Doddington Hospital following my meeting with the chief executive of the Central East NHS Integrated Care Board, Jan Thomas.

"In recent months it has been clear from local residents that health services previously offered at Doddington, such as dermatology, are no longer being provided.

"Instead, I am told this is being moved to already busy GP surgeries.

"Other services, like audiology, have been paused and, whilst presented as a temporary change, risks then becoming a permanent decision."

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