BARONESS McIntosh has called for the sale of the Lambert Hospital in Thirsk to be blocked, during a debate on the NHS in the House of Lords.

The former Thirsk and Malton MP raised the issue during a debate at Westminster on Thursday morning on the long-term sustainability of the NHS.

Anne McIntosh, whose father was one of the first NHS GPs in 1948, said in her contribution to the debate that the costs of providing all public services, particularly health care, was more expense in rural and sparsely populated areas.

She said: “Given the vast areas a GP practice covers and often long distances to travel to general hospitals, community hospitals play a central role in delivering health care.

“It is a matter of anger tinged with sadness that the decision was taken by the local Clinical Commissioning Group decision taken to close Lambert Hospital and now more recently, by NHS Property Services to sell it.

“In terms of delivering health care locally, this is a retrograde step for the local community to have a facility that was gifted to the people of Thirsk in perpetuity as the hospital was by the Lambert family, is ethically and morally questionable and in my view, indefensible.

“I seek an assurance from the Minister today that either he will intervene and block the sale and permit the site of the Lambert to be converted into a health hub for the local community which is what the GPs in Thirsk are requesting. Or ensure that the proceeds of the sale be returned and used for health care in Thirsk.”

She also questioned where the scrutiny of such decisions lay: “My question to the Minister Lord O'Shaughnessy is: where is the parliamentary scrutiny and accountability of NHS England? They operate independently from Government and are unaccountable to Parliament.

“I am aware of the "mandate" agreed between the DOH and NHS England, but there is really no adequate Parliamentary scrutiny.

“For the sustainability of general practice and with a view to allocating more funds to delivering healthcare in rural areas, the balance between rural and urban areas should be reviewed as a matter of urgency.”

The Lambert Memorial Hospital closed in 2015, when it was announced that enough qualified nursing staff couldn’t be found to operate the hospital safely.

Councillors from Sowerby Parish Council, Thirsk Town Council, Hambleton District Council and North Yorkshire County Council formed the Lambert Hospital Action Group.

The group, led by Hambleton council, attempted to purchase the building and use it as a health and community facility.

They put in an offer to NHS Property Services for the hospital, based on a valuation of the building as a community facility. But the offer was turned down by NHS Property Services – a company owned by the Department of Health which reinvests its money back into the NHS.

The building is now being sold on the open market to the highest bidder.

An NHS Property Services spokesperson said the offer from the council was below market value and so would not have been in affordable, or in the best interests of the health service.

NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (the CCG) said they had been disappointed they were unable to come up with an affordable solution.

The CCG said they had facilitated discussions between Hambleton District Council and NHS Property Services over the future of the Lambert Hospital site and were “very disappointed” an affordable solution couldn’t be found.

It added as it did not own the hospital site, it could not accept or reject any offers.