North East CCGs defeat High Court challenge to transfer of services

Two clinical commissioning groups have successfully defended a legal challenge over the transfer of stroke, maternity and urgent paediatric care services.

His Honour Judge Raeside QC ruled in favour of Sunderland and South Tyneside CCGs at the High Court in Leeds last month (21 December).

As part of The Path to Excellence hospital transformation programme they intend to transfer the services from South Tyneside Hospital to Sunderland.

The claimants, advised by law firm Irwin Mitchell, argued that there had been a potentially flawed consultation process which breached the principles of procedural fairness and decisions made on the basis of potential flaws in the transport analysis.

They also believed that the proposals to transfer the NHS services to Sunderland were based on a flawed assessment of the impact on patients and that the criteria to assess the cost of this was flawed.

In a statement following the High Court ruling Sunderland and South Tyneside CCGs said: “We are pleased that the judge has supported our decision for phase one of the Path to Excellence programme and found our robust public consultation in 2017 to be a fair and lawful process.

“While we understand people's concerns, these changes have always been about doing what is right for our patients and protecting hospital services which are extremely vulnerable.

“These are much valued services and both CCGs took their decision making very seriously, based on clear clinical evidence and in the best interests of people in South Tyneside and Sunderland. We are already seeing real improvements as a result of the interim changes we have made, particularly for stroke patients in South Tyneside.

“Staff at our hospitals in South Tyneside and Sunderland can now look to the future with certainty as we move forward with these vital improvements in patient care. We remain fully committed to engaging openly with colleagues, patients and partners as we implement these changes and as we continue to develop plans to deliver clinical excellence through phase two of the programme."