"MAJOR concerns" have been voiced over plans to end intensive care services for babies at a Teesside hospital.

The North East Joint Health scrutiny committee is considering a report which recommends the intensive care baby unit at University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton is downgraded to provide just special care.

The report, from NHS England, was considered at a meeting in Hartlepool. It recommended that the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle, Sunderland Royal Infirmary and James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough continued as Neonatal Intensive Care (NIC) units, but North Tees was downgraded.

At the meeting, held at Hartlepool Civic Centre, councillors were asked to consider whether the recommendations needed to go out to public consultation.

But councillors questioned the wisdom of the move - and called on NHS England to provide evidence to back up their proposal.

Committee chair Ray Martin-Wells said: “I have major concerns about the effects the proposal would have on the region as a whole and on the people of Hartlepool.

“We need more information so that we can see what evidence there is for this recommendation.

"Clearly, councillors were not comfortable with this and the committee requested that NHS England attend a further meeting so that they can explain themselves.”

At the meeting some councillors voiced concerns about the lack of car parking at James Cook whilst others questioned why the NIC unit in Sunderland was not chosen to be downgraded.

Councillor Martin-Wells added: “At a time when we are fighting to get vital hospital services returned from North Tees to Hartlepool, the last thing we want is services being moved even further away.

“NHS England will have to have a very compelling case for this to have the agreement of local authorities and so far we are yet to see that evidence.”

*Campaigners fighting to bring services back to the University Hospital of Hartlepool descended on the Conservative Party Conference to gather support for their ongoing fight to restore services - including accident and emergency - to Hartlepool.

The Fighting for Hartlepool Hospital (F4HH) group travelled to Manchester to highlight their campaign.

Glen Hughes, deputy chair of F4HH, said: "We were amazed by the amount of people attending the rally, it truly does go show that people in this county still care.”

For more information on the campaign, visit the Facebook page Fighting for Hartlepool Hospital.