A GP from North Yorkshire has called the closure of a ward at Malton Hospital “wasteful”, but said he welcomed nurses and therapists working in the community.

Recent announcements from NHS North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust said the Ryedale Ward at the hospital would be closed within weeks for a six-month trial period, in a move one local MP called “absolutely unacceptable”.

Dr Tim Hughes, from Kirkbymoorside, has worked alongside the hospital for 19 years, and called the staff there “dedicated and highly skilled”.

He said: “During the closure of Ryedale Ward for refurbishment these dedicated and highly skilled staff joined us in our General Practice in providing care in the home.

“During this time I was privileged to witness some of the finest nursing I have ever seen. However, it was not plain sailing and did not have my support from the start, but once the communication issues were resolved then the system worked pretty well.”

Anne McIntosh, MP for Thirsk, Malton and Filey, said the region needs more information about the trial scheme, which she has labelled “stealth closures”.

Ms McIntosh said: “The point I would make is where are the people who needed treatment in the Ryedale Ward, going to be treated in future?

“Scarborough hospital beds get filled up very quickly during the winter months and that is why people are so concerned about the closure of the Ryedale Ward. The closure is 21 beds, half the hospital. I want to be absolutely clear what the criteria are about when it stops being a pilot scheme and becomes a full closure.”

Dr Hughes said: “People deliver health care, not buildings, and the people who work on the ward are an excellent bunch of people.

“We will always need hospitals. However, if we have stronger community health care services better able to provide more medical care and support in the home then we might not need to go to hospital so often or stay for as long as we do now.”

Ms McIntosh said: “You can’t spend £1million, a quarter of which was raised by local communities, and six months later, close the ward.

“I just don’t think it is a good use of public or taxpayers funds. The way that the PCT has dealt with the closure of the ward doesn’t instill me with confidence about the hospital, because they failed to keep local people informed.”