Hannah Coffey is the Chief Executive of North West Anglia Foundation Trust, the NHS body which provides many of the local health services at Doddington Hospital.
Her lack of interest in Doddington Hospital can be seen from the fact it has taken over 6 months for her to reply to my letter of 26th January 2026 requesting basic information on the health services she runs there - despite the importance of Doddington Hospital to residents in Fenland and my reminders. This is information the Trust should have as part of their routine management of those services.
Her letter is now enclosed so you can see her response for yourself.
Firstly, it confirms a host of services have closed. For example, breast surgery was stopped in May 2025, dermatology in July 2025, and ENT also stopped in July 2025. This appears to have been done by stealth, without any public consultation or wider public notification.
Secondly, the letter appears misleading. Services presented as having increased in number - such as cardiology - have in fact been replaced with an inferior service. In short, we have lost a consultant-led clinic, where you would see the senior heart doctor at Doddington in person, and instead see a technician for an ultrasound scan of the heart. To see the heart specialist, you now have to travel - hardly an improvement.
Third, the numbers are down on a number of the services which remain, such as for diabetic medicine, endocrinology (often used by diabetic patients), gynaecology, respiratory medicine and urology.
So just like the North Cambs hospital - where services were cut by over a fifth (23%) last year (2025/26) compared to the year before (2024/25), we now finally have confirmation that a host of services have been cut or reduced at Doddington Hospital. And they have resisted sharing this information with the public for over six months.
I will keep raising this issue and challenging the absence of any clear plan or strategy for Doddington Hospital from North West Anglia Foundation Trust. I hope March Town Council, Chatteris Town Council, and Fenland District and Cambs County councillors will now raise their own questions with Ms Coffey regarding the running down of Doddington Hospital.
Given the lack of public consultation, or basic information, from Ms Coffey and her team, you as a resident may also have questions or concerns about what is happening to Doddington Hospital. If so, I suggest you email her directly at [email protected] Hopefully her response won’t take over six months.
