Centralisation of services away from coastal communities results in inequality of access
Data Source: From Freedom of Information Requests Data Source Date 2021-2022
All data in this insight has been provided by York Trusts Information Governance Team
Pre-Covid Data, 2019-20,
Following the outbreak of Covid in 2020, NHS England cancelled all non-urgent appointments
Since then, no year has been “normal” so our focus has been pre-Covid April 2019 to March 2020
All appointment volumes detailed relate to Bridlington (YO16, 16) and Driffield (YO25) patients only
2019-20, over 92,000 Outpatient appointments offered to Bridlington and Driffield patients
Of these, half were offered at distant hospitals requiring patients (many elderly) to travel further
Attendance rates varied with travel, the best attendance being at Bridlington, the worst at Malton
Only 78% of patients attended at Scarborough Hospital, 77% at York and 74% at Malton.
Over 10,000 patients - almost 1 in every 4 - were unable to attend distant appointments offered
For those patients able to afford and arrange transport this added 1½ million miles extra travel
Appointments offered at Malton Hospital increasingly rise year-on-year
Travel to Malton is particularly difficult because there is NO viable public transport from Bridlington
The only option is a return Taxi which, costing around £115, is unaffordable for most patients
Despite the problems detailed, York Trust increasingly transfers Bridlington appointments to Malton
The graph above shows…
Huge increases in the number of appointments centralised to Malton between 2018 to March 2022
2020-21 to 2021-2022 UROLOGY Appointments offered to Bridlington and Driffield patients
Data Source: BHF 30 June Delegate e-Pack Data Source Date July 2022
Latest data shows that at Bridlington 90% appointments were kept, but only 73% at Malton
Within its Constitution the NHS pledges convenient, easy access to services
Patients needing to make long, £115 Taxi journeys is not easy or convenient
Failure to restore equality of access is a failure of fairness and social justice
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