A&E department to permanently close at The Friarage Hospital in Northallerton

The A&E department at The Friarage Hospital in Northallerton is to permanently close.

It follows a temporary closure of the Accident and Emergency Department in March 2019 due to insufficient staffing. It will be replaced with a 24/7 minor injuries unit.

The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) opened a formal consultation with the public in September 2019. Local residents were asked to look at options for the hospital to deliver a sustainable service.

Over the 18 weeks of the consultation over 2060 people gave their views at public meetings, through online and face to face surveys and at meetings with local community groups.

The CCG said, "the overwhelming view of those consulted was that the Friarage should offer a 24/7 Urgent Treatment Centre – the model that has been operating successfully since March 2019."

In a statement, Dr Charles Parker, Clinical Chair of North Yorkshire CCG:

The options the public were asked to consider were:

Option 1: A 24 hour, 7 day a week Urgent Treatment Centre for adults and children with minor injuries and minor illnesses

Option 2: A 16-hour Urgent Treatment Centre for adults and children with minor injuries and minor illnesses, open 7 days a week from 8am to midnight.