Picture of South Tyneside Hospital

The downgrading of South Tyneside Hospital was announced as part of the “alliance” between City Hospitals Sunderland (CHS) and South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust (STFT) in April 2016. Subsequently CHS planned a “merger” with STFT, which took place on April 1st 2019, forming South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

The Save South Tyneside Hospital Campaign (SSTHC) started its fight to oppose the resulting loss of acute services in May 2016. People throughout the borough - including health staff - joined us knowing that this will be a disaster for the people of South Tyneside, and also for the people of Sunderland whose access to acute services will be under pressure by the closure of acute services in South Tyneside.

Since then SSTHC has organised many demonstrations, with several taking place outside the hospital. Hundreds have attended our public meetings, and in 2019 our petition exceeded 42 thousand signatures.

At the moment the Trust executives are preparing phase-2 options for public consultation later in 2021. These are likely to downgrade more of our acute hospital services, including our A&E.

The attempt to downgrade South Tyneside Hospital is fundamentally a result of the whole direction in which the government is taking the NHS. It is deliberately reducing NHS funding, it is wrecking the NHS so it can enrich the private health corporations at the expense of our health care.

We are responding by bringing people (regardless of differing political and other views) together into an organised campaign to fight for these services, and for a future that will retain our right to access vital acute, community and mental health services at our district hospital. Join us in the fight.
Our stand is to safeguard the future of South Tyneside Hospital and its acute and emergency services.
  • We demand that the government, NHS England, South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group and South Tyneside Health & Well-being Board stop any plans to close acute services at South Tyneside District Hospital and to safeguard its A&E service.
  • We demand the restoration of the duty of government to provide a comprehensive health service across England to all communities, ensuring the resources that are required and the training of doctors and consultants required for all acute and community services.
  • We demand the reverse of 25 years of marketisation in the NHS, the abolition of the purchaser-provider split, an end to contracting, and the creation of public bodies and public services accountable to local communities.
Access to health care is a right of all in a modern society, and we demand that it must be guaranteed.