Calls for "Consultative Pause" as Bridlington Care Unit Faces June Closure

A growing chorus of local representatives is calling for an immediate pause to the planned closure of the Bridlington Care Unit, as health chiefs at the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust prepare to shutter the facility on 1st June 2026.

The 28-bed ward, established in 2021 as a temporary measure to ease pandemic-related pressures at Scarborough Hospital, has become a focal point of community concern across the East Riding and North Yorkshire.

While health bosses argue the closure is necessary due to the withdrawal of pandemic-era funding and a strategic shift towards community-based care, local councillors are urging the Trust to "take a breath". Bridlington Councillor Andy Walker highlighted the speed of the decision-making process and the lack of a traditional consultation period, noting that a petition against the closure has already garnered thousands of signatures.

Councillor Walker stated:

"Timing is so brief in this and certainly the impact we've seen from the petition were into many thousands of signatures. There's a huge amount of concern in the community.

Had a consultation happened, I think we'd probably be looking at 6-9 months from it being mooted. As it is, we have just a few weeks, a few days.

But Pausing at this stage will allow that consultation.

People will feel this change. Not just the staff."

The unit was designed to provide short-stay rehabilitation for elderly patients who were medically fit for discharge but lacked the necessary social care packages to return home. For residents in Bridlington, Driffield, and Hornsea, as well as those travelling from as far as Whitby, the unit has served as a vital bridge between hospital and home.

Councillor Jonathan Bibb expressed the deep-seated anxieties of the local population, pointing to the demographic challenges of the region. Bridlington’s high elderly population and levels of deprivation have led some to view the loss of the unit as a withdrawal of essential support for the most at-risk residents.

Councillor Bibb said:

"I and I suspect many other residents don't feel very cared for at the moment.

Now, Bridlington has the largest population centre in the east riding. It also has the most deprivation and extremely high elderly population and the closure of Bridlington care unit could be just seen as an attack on the most vulnerable people in the east riding. I think the care unit is a real safety net for local people.

Given the public outcry with thousands of local people signing MP Charlie Dewhirst's petition to save the care unit. Would you commit to reversing this decision and look into increasing hospital services and investment in Bridlington Hospital?"

Echoing these sentiments, Councillor Cousins formally recommended that health leaders reconsider the current timeline to allow for more robust public engagement.

Councillor Andrew Cousins remarked:

"I would maybe recommend that we ask for a pause in the delivery of the closure so that proper consultation can be taken now that it is out in the public place.

We just need to take a breath, stand back a little bit and make sure that we are ready for this change and that it will not have an adverse effect on local residents, particularly the most vulnerable in society in Bridlington."

However, the Trust's leadership maintains that a pause would not be in the best interest of patients or the 31 staff members currently undergoing redeployment consultations. Chief Operating Officer Claire Hanson cautioned that extending the period of uncertainty could increase staff anxiety and delay the reinvestment of funds into community services, such as the "Bee at Home" care service in the East Riding.

Claire Hanson stated:

"I don't think it would be in the best interests of people to keep this ongoing and extend it. We've got the 1st of June. We've started mobilizing it from April. That is 3 months to be able to work together to ensure that we've got everything being done that needs to be able to be done.

What I would caution is the the plans are in place and the anxiety for the staff around whether they have the right roles moving forward."

From a clinical perspective, the Trust argues that keeping patients in a hospital setting for an average of 27 days is detrimental. Dr Ed Smith, an emergency medicine doctor at Scarborough, has previously described the unit as a "care home in a hospital," warning that prolonged stays can lead to patient de-conditioning and an increased risk of infection.

The closure remains a contentious issue, with Bridlington MP Charlie Dewhirst taking a petition to Parliament to demonstrate the "strength of feeling" in the town. Despite the opposition, the Trust has already begun scaling back operations, with the unit currently running at a reduced capacity of 15 beds as the 1st June deadline approaches.

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