Leading doctor sees red over plan.

(From The Journal)

Byline: Helen Rae

ONE of the country's leading experts on childhood medicine has launched a scathing attack on plans to build a specialist emergency hospital in the North East.

In the pounds 200m proposals, health chiefs want to transfer all serious emergency care cases from North Tyneside and Wansbeck general hospitals to a new purpose-built centre near Moor Farm roundabout, Annitsford, Cramlington.

Serious emergency care, consultant-led maternity services and special care baby units will be removed from North Tyneside and Wansbeck to the acute care site as they need to be at the same premises.

But in an unprecedented attack Prof Sir Alan Craft, former president of Royal College of Paediatrics, said the proposals for the restructuring of children's services in the region was concerning.

Prof Craft, who lives in Embleton, Northumberland, said it would be difficult to …