York NHS Trust responds to claims of cuts to Scarborough Hospital services

In a statement, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and East Riding CCG, working under the auspices of the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership, are undertaking an independent review of the configuration of Scarborough acute services.

"This review is at a very early stage, and contrary to what has been reported in the media and on social media, we are not in formal consultation and there are no proposals for what any of our services might look like in the future.

"The review is looking at the services that are currently provided and through detailed analysis will seek to understand the health needs of our population now, what they might look like in the future, and how these might be met.

"We have been as open as possible and involved as many clinicians as we can in the early stage of this review. This work is likely to take many months and there will be opportunities for staff and the public to get involved.

"The events that are taking place this week (Monday 15 October in Scarborough and Tuesday 16 October in Bridlington) are not to consult on proposals, as no proposals have been developed.

"The meetings, aimed at people who are members of various local health networks and groups, are to seek input into the development of evaluation criteria on options for sustainable services in Scarborough."

The Trust has also confirmed that there will be no downgrading of Scarborough's A&E department.

It said: "We have committed to retaining an emergency department in Scarborough, and to do anything else would be unthinkable not least due to the impact on other hospitals and the local population."