A COUNCIL has disclosed the amount spent on a hard-fought campaign to save maternity and children’s services at the Friarage Hospital.

Richmondshire District Council presented its own proposal on how the serves could be made viable – and when it was rejected a legal team was consulted as a last-ditch attempt to retain consultant-led services at the Northallerton hospital.

The council spent about £11,000 on its battle – including £8,500 for a lawyer with the rest on travel and accommodation expenses.

Leader of the council Cllr John Blackie said the money was well spent in the bid to stop the downgrading of key maternity and children’s services, given the huge importance that saving the services would have meant to the local communities.

He said: “Even though the fight had been unsuccessful, it had been vital to go the extra mile and stand up to be counted for the residents of the district.”

The council had strongly opposed plans by the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to transfer the 24/7 consultant led maternity and children’s services from the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The fight involved visits by Cllr Blackie to other hospitals across the country faced with the same issues due to their rural locations.

Cllr Blackie said: “This was a small investment to try to save these key services for our residents. We remain very disappointed in the CCG’s decision.”

Leader of Richmondshire District Council’s Conservative group Cllr Fleur Butler said she appreciated the work that had been done to attempt to save maternity services and was glad the figures had been made public.