A HOSPITAL cross-site shuttle bus will be launched on Monday (13 October) following recent changes to children’s and maternity services at the Friarage Hospital.

The new service will be available to families who may need to travel between the Northallerton hospital and The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough if a child is transferred and they have no other means of getting between sites.

It will operate ten times a day – Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays – from 8am to 5pm with pick-up points at the Friarage Hospital’s main entrance and the women and children entrance at The James Cook University Hospital.

The five month pilot scheme will cost the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group and local NHS around £30,000 to run.

Transport was a particular issue raised during the public consultation into children’s and maternity services and the introduction of the shuttle bus is a joint initiative between HRW CCG and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Charles Parker, HRW CCG governing body member and Topcliffe GP, said: “It was clear during the public consultation that transport is an important topic. We’ve listened to people’s views and put in place this new service.

"The aim is to provide safe and appropriate non-urgent transport with the assurance that people can travel between the hospitals in a reasonable time.”

Friarage hotel services manager Paul Birch said: “We’ll run this as a pilot scheme until March 31, 2015 to determine how well the service is used by parents and relatives and whether they think it’s beneficial.”

Further details about the service, including the bus timetable, is available on South Tees’ website at http://southtees.nhs.uk/hospitals/friarage/changes/travel/.