THE impact of the temporary closure of Eccleshill Treatment Centre in Bradford this summer appears to have been minimised, according to details in a new Bradford Council report.

Most staff who were affected when Care UK pulled out of the centre at the end of its contract have now found alternative work, either through redeployment with the same firm or elsewhere, according to a report to be discussed by the Council's Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Despite the loss of services in Eccleshill, the NHS still managed to keep patients within targets for waiting times although they had to be treated elsewhere.

The treatment centre building is owned by NHS Property Services and it is still negotiating to let out some parts of the building, including theatres and scanning rooms.

Those talks are going on with clinical firms which provide services elsewhere and might use Eccleshill as an 'outreach' element of their work.

Services now confirmed as returning to Eccleshill include endoscopy, MRI CT and ultrasound services.

Patients will be able to select the centre for treatment through the NHS choose and book system, which gives patients choice over where they are treated.

According to the report, which goes before councillors on Thursday, when the centre closed: "Alternative existing providers confirmed they had sufficient capacity to absorb this additional work and have continued to achieve national waiting times targets throughout."

The alternatives will have been less convenient for patients in the area, however, with providers based in Leeds and Harrogate being among the providers stepping in.

The centre closed because Care UK did not want to renew its contract, which would have been calculated on a fixed formula set down by the health authorities.

The closure of the centre caused controversy with protesters including schoolboy James Slater, who raised a petition against the closure which attracted more than 3,500 signatures in around three weeks.

He feared Bradford Royal Infirmary would have been unable to cope had all the patients who used the treatment centre been diverted there.

Bradford East Lib Dem MP David Ward took a close interest in the process, but said it was clear there had been no intention to leave the centre closed long term.

Councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) said people in the area had been "protective" towards the centre, but added that it had never been at risk of staying closed.

"It was because of a contract that was unsustainable and a lot of people didn't realise that," he said.

"People saw it as a valuable resource and although it serves a wider area, people felt quite protective towards it."