WE'VE SECURED THE FUTURE OF BRIDLINGTON HOSPITAL!

Major Improvement plans have been drawn up to ensure Bridlington Hospital has a healthy future ahead. This comes as a direct result of campaigning, talks with the Scarborough Trust, other officials, Councillors and our own MP the Rt. Hon. Greg Knight.

Two new care centres will be created at the Bessingby Road site, a facility will be set up especially for Stroke patients, more surgery will take place and more people will be able to get treatment there instead of having to travel to Scarborough Hospital. We have been fighting for this for 12 months and it looks like we are winning, the Save Bridlington Hospital Campaign, will be in the front line when we feel things are not running correctly.

Although the News is brilliant for the future of Bridlington & District Hospital, lets not be too complacent, there is much work to do and we must always be vigilant.

The proposed upgrade is the result of an eight-month study by health chiefs wanting to make better use of the hospital and make sure its services are safe, after pressure from health watchdogs and the Save Bridlington Hospital Campaigners.

The plans are due to be phased in over the next five years and include the following, listed below:
Creating a primary care centre at the hospital to treat people who become ill outside GP surgery opening times; Creating a walk-in centre especially for visitors and tourists needing a doctor, which can also be used by residents. Both centres will work hand-in-hand with the 24-hour Minor Injuries Unit;

Improvements to the hospital's theatre to enable more operations to take place, and introducing new day surgery such as oral and ear, nose and throat treatment.

The piloting of a paramedic practitioner scheme to make sure emergency patients are treated immediately.

Upgrading services for stroke patients, including creating a strike facility, and the appointment of a stroke liaison nurse.

Upgrading rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, in order to developed Bridlington as a centre of excellence.

Let us not forget that the Scarborough Trust as just stated it as a deficit of £11.7m and has put into place a financial plan to repay this money over three years, it also stated that no investment would be made for three years in or at Bridlington & District Hospital? Once again we must remain vigilant, time will tell, the Trust talks about a five year plan, that's a very long time, health does not wait?

Other schemes in the pipeline include increasing the number of beds in the GP ward of the Macmillan Wolds Unit, developing a nurse/therapy led unit, offering more high dependency care for people recovering from operations, and improvements to the endoscopy services and the Coronary Monitoring Unit.

Health bosses also hope to make sure that where patients have to travel to Scarborough for operations, they will be transferred back to Bridlington & District Hospital as soon as possible to recover, and are aiming to hold more out-patients appointments there, if this is true then it will make a significant difference to the hundreds who have to travel at present.

They Trust also plan to solve the problem of staff shortages through more training and using staff to their full potential, and aim to forge closer working relationships with the town's GPs.

The Trusts plan of action involves improvements at: Scarborough, Whitby, Malton & Bridlington Hospital's as well as the Trusts detailed ways it plans to tackle its £11.7m of debt over the next 3 years, all eyes are now on the Bridlington & District Hospital for its planned future, If Chief Executive Alison Guy is true to her word then we can look forward to a brilliantly run and up-dated Bridlington Hospital.

The plan was drawn up by the specially formed Clinical Strategy Project group, a body made up health chiefs from the Scarborough & North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust, the area's two primary care Trusts and the North & East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority. Their recommendations are being discussed by the area's 4 health Trust boards, which are being urged to accept the changes and start putting them into practice. Recent visits by the Royal College of Physicians back in February of 2003 clearly stated that improvements were needed for the future of Bridlington & District Hospital and that services needed upgrading to bring our hospital in line with others throughout the country.

We firmly believe now, that if it had not been for the constant intervention and pressure from the; Save Bridlington Hospital Campaign that it would have been a much different story at Bridlington & District Hospital, a comment and statement passed recently by The Rt. Hon. Greg Knight MP and many other Councillors within the town and area. The 17,500 Petition collected by the Save Bridlington Hospital campaign is still in the hands of our MP Greg Knight is available to Lobby Parliament when the time is right, I still believe there are question to ask and answers to be given on many subjects yet, health is Paramount!

Professor Rajan Madhok, Medical Director of the Strategic Health Authority and chairman of the Clinical Strategy Group, said: "We believe this report provides a strong foundation for ensuring the future of healthcare throughout the area. I am sure it will reassure local people their health services are secure."
Residents and patients will get the chance to have their say on the report's recommendations at a public meeting to be held in the dinning room of Bridlington Hospital on Thursday, 23rd October 2003 at 2.00pm, anyone wanting to attend this meeting are asked to confirm their attendance by contacting the: Yorkshire Wolds & Coast Primary Healthcare Trust, Tele: (01482) 672056

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