THE headteacher of Malton School has called for greater co-ordination and co-operation among decision-making bodies in light of the reduction in opening hours at Malton Hospital’s Minor Injury Unit.

Rob Williams said although he did not live in Ryedale, he was aware of how strong the feelings were in the local community, among both parents and students, against any down-grading or removal of the services offered at Malton Hospital.

He said: “These matters cannot be viewed in isolation. The future prosperity of the town and surrounding villages is linked to the ongoing provision of high quality, local public services in health and education, just as much as it is to more obviously commercial decisions over new house building or the future of the cattle market and Wentworth Street car park.

“We are really all in this together and we need greater co-ordination and co-operation among the decision-making bodies to develop a better planned and shared vision for the future well-being of our community.”

Mr Williams said a good starting point would be for MP Anne McIntosh and elected councillors to robustly challenge the application into the rural context of urban financial planning models by central government agencies.

“It is far too simplistic to apply the economies of scale argument without giving proper consideration to the geographic and demographic context that our local public services are operating in and to the more personalised nature of the service they provide,” he said.