Community Hospital in Beverley

NHS East Riding of Yorkshire is delighted to announce that it has today secured an ‘option to purchase’ a 10.2 acre site at Swinemoor Lane, Beverley for the location of the new Community Hospital serving Beverley and surrounding area. The site is owned at present by Beverley Consolidated Charity.

The new £17 million hospital will provide an exceptional range of inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic services in a 21st century environment for patients, staff and visitors.

Securing the ‘option to purchase’ land is a step forward for NHS East Riding of Yorkshire’s transformation of community health care services. It follows the outcome of the public consultation on a future Commissioning Strategy for Community Services in June 2007 and the award of £20 million capital funding in December 2007.

It is anticipated that the brand new Community Hospital will offer:
•    30 bedded in-patient ward
•    Out patients department
•    Minor Injuries and Out of Hours Service
•    Diagnostics (X-ray / ultrasound)
•    Physiotherapy
•    Occupational Therapy
•    Speech and Language Therapy
•    Nutrition and Dietetics
•    Social Services
•    Neighbourhood Team Base
•    Mental Health services

Over the past year NHS East Riding of Yorkshire has undertaken a thorough appraisal process to identify a suitable site for the new hospital. The site at Swinemoor Lane scored very highly in terms of size, accessibility and affordability. The site backs on to common land, providing an open aspect at the rear and side of the site. The open countryside setting will enhance the therapeutic environment being created within the new hospital, particularly for ward-based patients. The site is accessible for people who will access the hospital from outside of Beverley, particularly those travelling from Driffield or Hornsea and is also on bus routes around Beverley itself.

Services delivered at Beverley Westwood Hospital will remain until the new community hospital is fully operational. The proposed site for the new hospital offers better access and car parking. The expected completion date is Autumn 2011.

Ivan Ellul, Chief Executive of NHS East Riding of Yorkshire, said:
“I am delighted that we have now secured the site for the new Community Hospital in Beverley.  We expect to submit a planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council shortly. The new Community Hospital in Beverley will be the largest building programme we have undertaken. It will result in many services that would have normally been delivered in larger hospitals delivered in the East Riding. Put simply, it means more therapies, more diagnostics, more screening and more inpatient and outpatient services will be brought closer to home.”

Karen Knapton, Chairman of NHS East Riding of Yorkshire, said:
“Today’s announcement has been eagerly awaited by many people and I am pleased that we have secured the right location that enables the new hospital to deliver the very best health care for our local population for years to come.

“We hope local people support us in our forthcoming application for planning approval to secure their new local hospital.”

Eric Bielby, Chairman of the Beverley Consolidated Charity Board of Trustees, added on behalf of the Board:
“It gives me great pleasure that NHS East Riding of Yorkshire has secured the site at Swinemoor Lane for our new local hospital in Beverley. Both our organisations are ‘in the caring business’ and Beverley Consolidated Charity will reinvest the money to build further almshouses for the benefit of the people of Beverley.”

Additional background information:

•    NHS East Riding of Yorkshire has agreed an ‘Option to Purchase’ with the current owners of the site, Beverley Consolidated Charity. It means that we have paid a deposit for the site and have an agreed period to complete the deal to buy the site. During the period no-one else can buy the site.

•    The Board approved the decision to develop the new Community Hospital via Procure 21 – a procurement method for publicly funded NHS Capital schemes. This is a preferable alternative to traditional tender, proven to deliver quality schemes on time and on budget. NHS East Riding of Yorkshire is currently in the process of selecting a development partner to take forward the work on this scheme.

•    The site is not ‘common land’ although it is bordered to the right and the rear by Swine Moor which is ‘common land’. NHS East Riding of Yorkshire is committed to preserving, where possible, natural habitats and where existing plants need to be removed they will be replaced. Ecology surveys and reports have been done as part of the site assessment process. The creation of balancing ponds etc as detailed above give us an opportunity to create an attractive and sustainable environment for local flora and fauna on the site.