HEALTH chiefs have come under pressure to re-open the overnight urgent care centre at Hexham General Hospital - and honour their earlier pledge of 24-hour care services.

Centres at Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck hospitals have been closed since last December, between midnight and 8am.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust initially said the closures were a temporary measure for just three months, to divert nursing resources to meet the winter crisis at the emergency care hospital at Cramlington.

But in March, the overnight closures were extended by a further three months, until June, sparking fears that night time services would be lost for good.

Hexham’s MP Guy Opperman has written to the trust’s chairman Alan Richardson, ahead of a crucial board meeting yesterday, at which a decision on the future of overnight care services was set to be made.

Mr Opperman called on board members to honour a pledge that 24-hour services at Hexham would not be affected after the ‘super’ hospital at Cramlington opened in 2015.

He claimed the exceptional circumstances which led to the closures had now been addressed, with an improved admissions system at Cramlington, 65 additional nurses recruited, and better working practices in the ambulance service.

Mr Opperman said: “Put very simply, a promise was made by the trust that 24-hour care would continue at Hexham hospital and that promise has to be honoured, especially given the clear changes in circumstances at Cramlington which now make that possible.

“I wish to reiterate my case very strongly for the reopening of the overnight facility at Hexham General Hospital.”

Mr Opperman claimed staff from Hexham were no longer filling overnight staffing gaps at Cramlington, and were only being used during daytime hours.

The MP expressed his sympathy with patients from Tynedale travelling to Cramlington for night time care.

He added: “This is a significant expense when compared to the cost of attending Hexham. There can be no doubt that this six-month temporary closure is causing the Northumbria NHS Trust reputational damage.”

joseph.tulip@hexham-courant.co.uk