Eight months after an initial judicial review failed to rule against the downgrading of Children’s A&E and Maternity by South Tyne-side and Sunderland Foundation Trust, a judge has approved an appeal to be heard on either November 5th or 6th.
The judge said the “appeal is properly arguable and real prospect of success,” although the fight now is to reverse cuts which have gone ahead in the meantime.
Problems accessing funding from NHS England have forced the Trust to postponed the further closures in Phase 2 of their plan until next year.
The Trust’s attempts to get loans of £35m and £15m respectively from South Tyneside and Sunderland Labour Councils to help implement a scheme strongly opposed in South Tyneside have so far been blocked by the strength of the campaign.
The campaigners and legal experts have now been granted permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the outcome of the judi-cial review and once again take their concerns about the closure of the hospital services to court.
Helen Smith, the specialist public lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Newcastle office representing the Save South Tyneside Hospital Cam-paign Group, said: “Despite the conclusion of the judicial review, we have always remained concerned by the processes used to make this decision regarding absolutely vital hospital services.
“This is a hugely important issue which affects healthcare access for a great number of people in the region and it is clear that any decision should be taken with the utmost care.
“It is welcome that the Court of Appeal has allowed us to challenge the original decision and we are determined to once again en-sure our clients’ voices are heard on this matter.”
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