CAMPAIGNERS have expressed their disappointment after a judge ruled there would be no judicial review into the decision to close stroke units in Barnsley and Rotherham hospitals.
A legal challenge was launched by a Barnsley resident, along with Save Our NHS groups in Barnsley and Rotherham, against health chiefs who are closing Barnsley Hospital’s emergency stroke services.
But a judge ruled there would be no judicial review at a hearing at Leeds Combined Court Centre on Monday.
Permission had already been refused once, but that decision was appealed.
Tony Nuttall, secretary of Barnsley Save our NHS Group, said: “We are very disappointed. We want to protect local health services, and have a full range of health services available at Barnsley Hospital and the fight goes on.”
The decision to close the hyper acute stroke unit, which provides the first 72 hours of critical care after a stroke, was made in November by the Joint Committee of Clinical Commissioning Groups (JCCCG) following a review and consultation.
The unit at Rotherham will also close, and anyone who suffers a stroke will be taken to Pinderfields, Doncaster, Sheffield or Chesterfield for the first 72 hours of care. After that time, if well enough, they will be brought back to Barnsley for the remainder of their care.
But the unnamed resident, along with Save Our NHS campaign groups in Barnsley and Rotherham, is concerned the views of local people in the two towns were not taken into account, and that the people were not treated fairly.
Nora Everitt, who represents the Barnsley Save Our NHS on the national committee of Keep Our NHS Public, said: “This case is dead in the water now. I personally feel the wording of the law was not specific enough so our case could not be proved. But it was a strong case.
“We are meeting with the scrutiny committee and we are hoping in future they will listen to the public’s concerns and take them into account in their deliberations.
“There are other decisions in the pipeline which we are seriously concerned about. There are a number of proposals for systemwide working that we are concerned about; the hospital review which is being decided this summer although the recommendations are very vague. We have some national academic researchers looking in to that for us.”
The specialist legal team at law firm Irwin Mitchell issued judicial review proceedings challenging the decision to close the stroke units. A judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
In other words, judicial reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached.
Rebecca Chapman, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We believe that we made strong legal arguments on behalf of Barnsley Save Our NHS Campaign Group as to why the Joint Committee of Clinical Commissioning Groups’ consultation with the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was unlawful.
“This planned closure of hyper acute stroke units at Barnsley and Rotherham hospitals is an important issue which will affect thousands of patients and their relatives.
“Whilst we are disappointed at the ruling we will now look at how best we can support our client.
“It is also worth noting that the court was told that if the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was concerned about the closures, it could still raise concerns with health secretary Jeremy Hunt.”
