Sponsored by
Closure shock for Whitby Hospital?
SHOCK plans have been unveiled for the long-term future of Whitby Hospital which would see it close and relocate to a new, smaller scale facility.
And the hospital's Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), which closed temporarily at the end of March, will now not re-open, as North Yorkshire and York NHS, which runs the hospital, has been unable to recruit a senior nurse to cover the overnight service.
You can have your say on the controversial plans at the bottom of this story.
The Primary Care Trust (PCT) said its investigations have shown needs for service provision based around urgent care, rehabilitation, diagnostics and outpatient services require a "much smaller facility" than is currently provided.
It adds locating the hospital with a social care facility would also be "beneficial" for service delivery.
The proposals – which address which hospital services should be based in Whitby and how community services could be improved to better support patients – will be outlined at Sneaton Castle this Friday at a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council's Scrutiny of Health Committee.
The meeting, which starts at 10am, is open to the public.
The PCT has also unveiled its short-term plans for the hospital which include investing between 350,000 and 500,000 into Whitby Hospital's operating theatres to allow endoscopy and general anaesthetic procedures, which were previously suspended, to re-start later in the year.
It will establish a project team to develop a business case and project plan for the work which is subject to successful Care Quality Commission registration and confirmation with Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust on their agreement to manage these services.
The PCT also intends to:
* look at changing the MIU's current daytime opening hours and assess how best to use the current medical staffing and out of hours resources to support urgent care
* develop a plan for the strengthening of community infrastructure by re-focusing resources into community services.
Janet Probert, managing director of North Yorkshire and York Community and Mental Health Services, said while the MIU overnight service was suspended, they did a full evaluation and concluded that its level of activity meant it did not offer good value for money.
She said: "We will assess how we can use the current medical staffing and out of hours cover to support the needs of the local population,
"I'd like to thank our staff in Whitby and local people for bearing with us while we put our proposals together. We believe what we are putting forward represents a model for local healthcare delivery which can be sustained in the longer term and provides best value for local people."
Other key themes of the proposals include:
* providing local and prompt access to assessment and treatment for those needing urgent care
* local access to a range of rehabilitation services
* local, prompt access to diagnostic tests and where desirable, minor surgery
* specialist community outpatient services to promote access and to support patient management by local GPs.
See Friday's Whitby Gazette for reaction from the proposals.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Whitby
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
