| £900,000 Boost for Bridlington Hospital ; just the Healthcare Ticket needed! Patients and staff at Bridlington Hospital are to benefit from a £900.000 cash injection which will help make the hospital one of the most advanced in the region. The investment means a £300.000 digital imaging link can be installed between Bridlington and Scarborough hospitals. The high-tech link will enable consultants at Scarborough to view x-rays and other scans taken at Bridlington hospital at the touch of a button via a computer system. The remaining £600.000 will go towards replacing the hospital's old and unreliable boilers. The existing coal-fired boilers will be replaced by gas-fired models, which will be cheaper to run and more efficient. The two schemes were among six bids for cash put forward by the Scarborough Trust bosses who were given the green light by the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Authority, at its meeting last Wednesday 28 th January 2004 . More than £10m was awarded to the Trust in total; its largest ever funding award from the authority. The digital imaging remote-link will be installed later this year in the hospital's radiology department. The technology will enable consultants to make quick decisions and judgements on x-rays without having to travel to Bridlington hospital or having x-rays sent to Scarborough ; which is what happens at the moment. Staff at the Minor Injuries Unit, Bridlington, will also able to use the system to consult with A & E specialists at Scarborough; the work will soon go out to tender and bosses hope to have the link up and running within six weeks; this latest investment is all part of a five-year-plan to bring Bridlington Hospital up to the highest standards; which the Save/Support Bridlington Hospital Campaigners have been fighting for this past 2 years; good news for everyone. The radiology department took delivery of two state-of-the-art x-ray machines last summer, one of which was the first of its kind in Europe; work will start soon on a £100.000 revamp to the endoscopy unit, which will include creating a new theatre and waiting and recovery room; Alison Guy Chief Executive of the Scarborough & North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: “It is impossible to over-estimate the enormous benefits that this investment will bring to the area. It is wonderful news for Bridlington & Scarborough, and we are very grateful that the health authority has supported us. It demonstrates that not only do they appreciate the need for this investment, but also that they have the confidence in this organisation to deliver the improvements necessary, that in itself is a great morale booster for our dedicated staff, who have worked incredibly hard recently to make this Trust the best-performing in the area. Mick Pilling, founder of the Save/Support Bridlington Hospital Campaign, claimed his campaign could take some of the credit for the latest investment. He said: We firmly believe that we have played an extremely big part in the Scarborough NHS Healthcare Trust obtaining its grant. The amount of Letters; E-mails and correspondence sent out to various Government Organisation, Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Parliamentary Officials, (MP's), Councillors etc throughout the east riding of Yorkshire and our very own MP, the Rt. Hon. Greg Knight MP, by campaigners have played a significant part; literally 100's of e-mails and letter were sent on a weekly basis to out-line this big problem at the Bridlington & District Hospital plus other hospitals within this region. The campaign is now on to get the Rapid Response Ambulance Cars back on the road. Kindest regards Mick Pilling |