A new service has launched at Bridlington Hospital to make it easier for local people when they need an operation at York or Scarborough hospitals.

Prior to having an operation patients need a pre-assessment to make sure they are fit for an anaesthetic and surgery. Until recently these assessment clinics have been held where people are having their surgery at either York or Scarborough hospitals. The new service now means Bridlington patients can have their pre-op bloods, ECGs or Covid PCR testing locally.

This is in addition to the bespoke Orthopaedic pre-assessment service for elective Orthopaedic patients who come to Bridlington Hospital for their surgery.

Lucy Turner, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at York and Scarborough Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “After listening to our local community about having to travel for things like bloods or pre-op assessments, we’ve recognised the need to provide a service across all sites. While people understand they may need to travel for the surgery itself or for specialist treatments, we can now ensure patients can access their local hospital for these pre-op tests and clinic appointments.

“We appreciate how stressful it can be prior to an operation and we are committed to enabling patients to have investigations as close to where they live as possible by adapting our skills and staffing,”

The Trust has made changes to the management structure to create efficient pre assessment and day units in York, Scarborough and Bridlington. Surgical specialties are working together to ensure patients receive the necessary information and investigations close to home.

Dr Simon Cox, NHS Place Director from East Riding of Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said: “We really welcome the development of this new and local service which, where it is clinically safe to do so, will benefit many people who are receiving care from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We would like to thank the staff at the Trust for working hard in partnership to help make this important and positive change happen, resulting in making some services more convenient and accessible.”

01 December 2022