Hospital revamp in resort due to finished in summer

WORK ON a multi-million-pound renovation of Whitby Hospital is set to be completed this summer.

The £13m redevelopment of the site started last March and includes an extra care facility to complement the hospital’s existing services.

There will also be a new car parking area, an ambulance bay, facilities for dropping off patients, external pedestrian links, and a plaza to connect the retained hospital tower block.

Physiotherapy and dental services will also be available on the site.

The project is being led by the Humber Teaching NHS Trust and once the revamp is complete, Whitby Hospital will be a place where “patients can recover after major operations, allowing families to be closer to their loved ones during their convalescence period”.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Scrutiny of Health Committee was given an update on the scheme by members of the trust who told the councillors that the final works will be completed in the summer.

Peter Beckwith, the executive director of finance at the trust, told the meeting: “Just in the last week or so we gave instruction for a dementia-friendly garden which we are funding out of our charitable arm for a bit of added sparkle to the project.”

Whitby Coun Joe Plant said that the changes to the hospital was something that the whole town could be proud of following fears that it could go altogether.

Coun Plant said: “It is amazing. It is fantastic.

“As a person born and bred in Whitby it is a very proud day.”

The hospital is a community facility for inpatient, outpatient and community services. The current hospital was opened in 1979 by Princess Margaret.