HEALTH bosses have backed wide-ranging plans to change community health services for the vulnerable and elderly in the South Tees area.

It will mean an enhanced new role for Redcar Primary Care Hospital but the closure of the Carter Bequest Primary Care Hospital in Middlesbrough.

It will also mean the closure of the two minor injury services in East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital in Brotton and Guisborough Primary Care Hospital.

Redcar Primary Care Hospital will become the main centre in the area for all stroke rehabilitation, including the community stroke team, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and dietetics.

All of the existing 32 community beds at the Redcar site will be retained with 12 beds dedicated for stroke rehabilitation.

Redcar Primary Care Hospital will continue to provide urgent care services, including a minor injury service.

The changes also involve developing unused space at the Brotton hospital to provide a range of hospital services as well as outpatient, diagnostic and therapy service. The existing 30 community beds and support services will be retained.

At Guisborough the hospital will be re-developed to ensure it can continue to provide current services to local people and support new services.

At the same time the South Tees CCG proposes to invest in a range of new community-based services including a stroke rehabilitation and community stroke team to support patients in their own homes.

The decision was taken by the governing body of NHS South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group at a meeting at Eston Civic and Learning Centre.

It followed a public consultation into the proposals which took place between April and July this year.

Dr Henry Waters, chair of NHS South Tees CCG, said: “The clinically-led view is that these changes are in the best interests of the South Tees population. This is an exciting time and a phased approach has been agreed in order to ensure that quality of care is not compromised."

A spokeswoman for South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said staff who work at the four community hospitals affected by the changes had been spoken to by managers and it was likely that all would be redeployed.