The battle to keep services at Deal hospital has seen a victory with the announcement that an ear, nose and throat specialist will begin consulting from the building.

Residents were told the news at the second workshop meeting of the South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group at the Astor Theatre.

The group, made up of doctors from the area, is holding the workshops to help it to decide which services people in Deal need now and in the future.

The consultation was running at the same time as the NHS’s consultation over which services it will cut at Deal Hospital and relocate to the new Buckland Hospital when it is built. The aim is to provide a one-stop-shop where diagnostics and treatment can be accessed, sometimes on the same day, reducing travelling times.

But the CCG, which is responsible for buying health services from providers like the NHS, can buy services from different providers if the NHS decides to stop offering them at Deal, so long as the services meet demand and are within budget.

MP Charlie Elphicke said: “Our GPs have taken up the challenge.

“Already they have got ENT services back. They are planning to ensure that outpatients’ services will be there for people suffering from arthritis, the partially sighted and those with broken bones."

He added that there is still a long way to go.

The workshop meetings are ongoing.

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