Health Bosses Reveal Further Details on Proposed Closure of Bridlington Care Unit

The NHS has released a detailed briefing regarding the planned closure of the care unit at Bridlington Hospital, citing a shift towards community-based care and the withdrawal of pandemic-era funding.

Health bosses have published a detailed briefing outlining the rationale behind the proposed closure of the Bridlington Care Unit.

The facility, operated by the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is slated to close its doors on the 1st of June 2026.

The unit was initially opened in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. It served as a temporary measure to create capacity for patients leaving Scarborough Hospital who were clinically ready for discharge but lacked an onward care package.

According to the newly released document from the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, the twenty-eight-bed unit was initially funded by pandemic resources. While the Integrated Care Board temporarily supported the costs post-pandemic, this funding will no longer be available from the 2026-27 financial year.

A spokesperson for the Integrated Care Board said:

"The decision is driven in part by the withdrawal of funding. It is important to recognise that the BCU was intended to be a temporary facility that was primarily to provide capacity for people who would ideally be in their normal residence. The principal aim should be to support patients returning to their home."

The health body noted that this aligns with the NHS Ten Year Plan's objective of shifting care from hospitals into the community.

Recent figures show that between the 1st of January and mid-April 2026, two hundred and thirty-two patients were discharged from the unit. While the majority hailed from Bridlington, Scarborough, and the wider East Riding, a proportion of patients travelled from further afield, including Whitby.

The briefing document stated:

"The average length of stay for patients discharged from BCU between 1 January and 12 April 2026 is 27 days, with a peak of 30 days (week ending 29 March). This is significantly longer than we would want for this patient group and reinforces the clinical view that extended stays in a hospital setting are not in patients' best interests, particularly for older patients where this can lead to deconditioning, increased risk of infection and poorer outcomes."

To mitigate the loss of the unit, investments are being made into community services. This includes a new Frailty service in North Yorkshire and increased access to community NHS services in the East Riding, such as the Bee at Home Care service.

Addressing the impact on employees, the NHS update confirmed:

"31 staff would be affected and require redeployment. There are sufficient vacancies for these staff, and consultation began on 15 April 2026. No redundancies are anticipated."

The trust has reassured residents that the closure will not affect Bridlington Hospital's other inpatient facilities, namely Kent Ward, Lloyd Ward, and Waters Ward.

Outlining the next steps, the health bosses added:

"Service transition is being carefully managed and phased, rather than a sudden closure. Admissions to the unit are reducing in a controlled way, with the unit currently operating at 15 beds as part of interim arrangements during consultation. Existing patients will continue to receive safe care, with discharge planning focused on supporting people to return to the place they call home, wherever possible, with appropriate support in place."

Looking ahead, the trust says it intends to continue developing Bridlington Hospital as a thriving community hub. Having recently achieved accreditation as an elective surgical hub, it says the hospital will participate in the national Hub Optimisation Week this May, running extended theatre lists to demonstrate its potential for delivering increased surgical care.

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