AN MP has stepped up her campaign to save the emergency department at a North-East hospital.

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman has written to Lady Ann Calman, Chair of the County Durham Primary Care Trust, to urge the PCT to reject the proposed downgrading of the accident and emergency department at the town’s General Hospital.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has suggested that the A&E department could be replaced by a combined minor injury unit and medical assessment centre, so anyone needing emergency treatment after 10pm would have to go to Darlington Memorial Hospital or the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City.

Ms Goodman, who has called a public meeting about the proposals, yesterday urged the PCT to listen to local people when they decide whether to support the plan.

She wrote: "These proposals ignore what people want and the NHS is, after all, paid for by the public.

"I surveyed my constituents in Bishop Auckland, and 93% of them said the most important thing they wanted in their local hospital was an A&E department.

"There are still too many questions that remain unanswered about these proposals, particularly concerning transport provision to hospitals in Darlington or Durham, staffing numbers, and how rural areas will be affected by the loss of this service".

Ms Goodman will be at the PCT board meeting next Tuesday (September 2) when the hospital trust is putting forward its final proposals.

The public meeting is in Bishop Auckland Town Hall at 6pm on Wednesday September 17.