A HOSPITAL GP out of hours service has today (Friday) been forced to close due to safety fears following a fire assessment found emergency lighting to be substandard.

The service, run out of the Duchess of Kent Barracks in Catterick Garrison, has temporarily moved as of 6pm today (Friday) to the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, a 36-mile round trip from the garrison.

The move was made necessary after a fire risk assessment at the barracks which found the majority of the emergency lighting in the building is substandard, making it unsafe.

The assessment was carried out by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which is responsible for building, maintaining and servicing armed forces buildings.

But leader of Richmondshire District Councillor Cllr John Blackie said he feared this was another case of health services retreating from Richmondshire.

He said: “The people of Richmondshire will have to travel an extra 36 miles to get to the Friarage from Catterick – I don’t understand why the Friary Hospital in Richmond could not have served as a temporary location instead.

“It seems to me that the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group wants to have one out of hours service for both Hambleton and Richmondshire and this has been a pre-text in order to get it.

“To have this come on top of the A&E, paediatric and maternity downgrades at the Friarage, it is unacceptable.”

But Debbie Newton, chief finance and operating officer for the CCG, stressed the trust was dedicated to finding a solution.

She said: “Over the past week we’ve worked with the providers, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, to find a clinically safe interim solution.

“People can be assured that we have been able to do that and avoid interruption to care. We are now working with the trust to find a safe and appropriate long term solution in Richmondshire. We are absolutely committed to providing a permanent GP out of hours service in Richmondshire.”

Jo Harding, lead nurse at Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG, said: “The out of hours service is for people who telephone their GP surgery when it is closed. It runs from 6pm to 8am on weekdays and all day and night at weekends and on bank holidays.

“We fully appreciate that the extra distance that patients will have to travel to Northallerton may be an issue for some people.

“If patients are not able to make their own way to the Friarage Hospital then arrangements will be made at no cost to them.”