CRITICISM has been levelled at a document designed to help shape the future of the urgent care centre at Northallerton's Friarage Hospital.

The South Tees NHS Trust and local CCG is currently consulting with the public over whether the hospital should have an urgent treatment centre open for 16 or 24 hours a day.

It comes after clinician recruitment problems led to the downgrading of the Friarage's A&E department in March this year.

The Consultation Institute - an independent group that encourages best practice - has been highly critical of one of the main documents, the Consultation Narrative, designed to inform people about the urgent treatment centre options.

On the CCG's website, the Consultation Narrative is marked as being for stakeholders and partners but it is part of the overall package being made public as part of the consultation.

The Consultation Institute report's author, Rhion Jones, writes that the narrative contains too much jargon and reads more like an academic dissertation.

The Northern Echo:

He describes the material as repetitive, badly presented and amateurish and even questioned whether it met the standards normally expected by NHS England.

Mr Jones told The Northern Echo that the Institute has been championing best practice for 15-years and said: "We have recently noted a marked improvement in the standard of NHS consultations – which is why it was such a disappointment when our attention was drawn to the documents about the Friarage Hospital."

He added: "We know that running a good consultation is a considerable task and running a bad one can leave the consulting organisation open to justified criticism from local people and politicians.

"The quality of the main consultation paper is one of the most important aspects of a public consultation exercise.

"This is the one that most people should read and use to inform their response.

"Poor practice serves no one because decision makers and local people need to have confidence in the process being followed."

The Northern Echo contacted The South Tees NHS Trust for a response and was directed to the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG who declined to comment.

The consultation documents can be accessed here and the CCG is holding a series of public engagement events across the region until December 2, with the next being at the Booth Memorial Institute in Catterick on October 7.