Health Officials Promise Bright Future For Bridlington Hospital As Care Unit Closes

Senior health officials and councillors have committed to expanding diagnostic and elective services at Bridlington Hospital as the town's care unit officially closes its doors on Monday.

Monday sees the closure of the Bridlington Care Unit, following three months of preparation and mobilisation that began in April.

Senior hospital officials and local councillors have been discussing the best way forward for the site, amid concerns from the community about the future of healthcare provision in the town.

Despite the closure of the unit on the first of June, health leaders are stressing that the move will ultimately lead to an improvement in services and health outcomes for the people of Bridlington.

Addressing the timeline of the closure and the impact on staff, the Chief Operating Officer for the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Claire Hansen, explained why extending the process would be detrimental:

"I don't think it would be in the best interests of people to keep this ongoing and extend it. We've got to the 1st of June. We've started mobilising it from April. That is three months to be able to work together to ensure that we've got everything being done that that needs to be able to be done. But that's a decision for our trust board. That's not something that I can sit here and and make a decision on. But what I would caution is the plans are in place and the anxiety for the staff around whether they have the right roles moving forward."

Healthcare bosses are keen to reassure residents that the hospital is not being downgraded. Instead, they argue that the site is transitioning towards a new model of care.

Dr Simon Cox from the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board outlined the existing facilities at the hospital and revealed that the trust actually plans to expand its elective and diagnostic capabilities, rather than reducing overall services:

"There are three other wards at Bridlington. There are two operating theatres and an outpatient suite. There is a diagnostic suite, and the information I've got, from speaking to Claire and colleagues, is that actually the trust plans to expand those services, not reduce them. And actually, in some respects what we've not been able to do through communication is to give a vision for what the future direction for Bridlington is, which is probably not a sort of a semi-care home sort of facility, but actually an elective and diagnostic centre. Doing our operations hasn't happened as quickly as possible, and I'm sure Claire can talk more eloquently than I can about that. But we are committed as an NHS in terms of a bright future for Bridlington."

To ensure that the community remains informed about these upcoming changes, the Integrated Care Board and the NHS are working on a structured process of engagement.

This includes working alongside a multi-agency group and meeting regularly with the local health forum to share information and communicate effectively with residents.

Dr Cox added:

"What we've been trying to explore is how we use the site as effectively as possible. I think there is a difference between what is formally described in law as consultation and what is engagement and what I think we can commit to as an ICB and NHS is to work with yourselves about agreeing a structured process of engagement in terms of information sharing, communication. We're actively trying to work with the community in Bridlington. We set the multi-agency group up and meet with the health forum regularly so we can look at putting something together which is, you know, consults, but not within the framework of formal consultation."

Local representatives have stressed the urgency of communicating this positive vision to the public to dispel any fears that the closure of the care unit represents a loss for the town.

Councillor Jonathan Bibb highlighted the need for a clear strategy to help local people understand that the changes represent an investment in local facilities:

"A strategy for local people to allow them to understand what this actually means. So it's not erosion of services, it's an improvement of services for health outcomes for the people of Bridlington, and you are further investing in facilities within Bridlington. However, you want to word that, but I think getting that out into the public in any meaningful way you can as fast as possible is essential."