Campaigners are gearing up for the next round in their fight against plans which will shape future health care in South Tyneside. Members of the Save South Tyneside Hospital Campaign (SSTHC) claim the first phase of the consultation on clinical reviews at the Harton Lane site in South Shields, is likely to start next month.
The reviews are part of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) by the Government to find £900 million in annual cuts to the social and health care budgets of hospitals in Northumbria, Tyne & Wear and North Durham, by 2021.
A spokesperson for the NHS in South Tyneside has confirmed the first areas of care to be reviewed are stroke, maternity, gynaecology and orthopaedics and a full consultation is expected to commence in the coming weeks.
They say future proposals for significant changes would always require a separate formal consultation under the Health and Social Care Act.