HARTLEPOOL MP Iain Wright has called on health bosses to breath new life into his local hospital after plans to build a super-hospital at Wynyard were put on hold.

In recent years acute medical and surgical services have been transferred from the University Hospital of Hartlepool to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton.

Health bosses argued this was needed to maintain and improve the safety and quality of hospital-based care and in the expectation of a new hospital at Wynyard which would replace both ageing hospitals.

But now the North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation NHS Trust has decided to put the Wynyard project on pause until after the next general election, Mr Wright said it is time to reverse the downgrading of Hartlepool Hospital.

“This decision cannot mean that hospital services continue to be centralised at North Tees Hospital at the expense of Hartlepool's hospital. That is unacceptable for the people of my town,” the MP said.

“If Wynyard is not going ahead then work needs to start immediately on discussions as to which services will be moved back to Hartlepool,” he added.

Mr Wright said having one hospital north of the Tees - if that hospital was North Tees – “is not good enough.”

This view was echoed by UKIP’s candidate for the Hartlepool seat in next May’s general election.

Phillip Broughton said he will campaign next year for all medical services, especially accident and emergency, which have been removed from Hartlepool Hospital in recent years to be immediately restored.

On Thursday the chief executive of the North Tees and Hartlepool Trust, Alan Foster, said he was “bitterly disappointed” that the plans had to be suspended and blamed the lack of “high-level political support” for the £300m scheme.

Ironically, in an exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday morning - before it became known that the trust had suspended any further work on the project - Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham: “I have met the chief executive involved and heard their case for that, and we are processing it as fast as we can."

Less than half an hour later the Department of Health put out a short statement which said:"Following the trust's decision to put on hold further planning, we will continue to work with them when they resume work on their proposals."