NEARLY a year after Bootham Park Hospital closed, a temporary new NHS hospital is opening as its replacement.
Final work is being carried out on Peppermill Court, off Huntington Road, which has been turned into a 24-bed interim mental health hospital, expected to operate until a new hospital can be opened in 2019.
Following the sudden closure of Bootham Park Hospital last September, people who needed to be admitted to hospital have been taken out of area, mainly to Roseberry Park in Middlesbrough.
But from September 12, it is hoped some of these patients can be moved back to the new facilities at Peppermill Court - where £1,236,000 has been spent on transforming the former elderly peoples' unit over the last six months.
Last minute work is underway to complete the unit, which has separate male and female wards.
Ruth Hill, director of operations for York and Selby for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), said: "It's a relief. We said we would reinstate services in York and that's what we have done.
A consultation room at Peppermill Court
"This is really important for the service users. We acknowledge there has been a huge amount of concern. Knowing there are services here is a huge milestone."
The unit is six beds short of the 30 beds planned for the new hospital and so some patients are still likely to be treated in other TEWV hospitals in the north east.
Among the many concerns raised by the Care Quality Commission about the listed Bootham Park Hospital, was the risk that patients may be able to hang themselves on ligature points. This danger has been mitigated in the new unit, Ms Hill said.
The freshly decorated individual new rooms include phone charging points, blinds on the doors and windows, better ventilation and, in contrast to Bootham Park Hospital, duvets instead sheets and blankets.
Instrumental to making these changes, have been a team of people who have been treated for mental health problems in York.
A patient bedroom at Peppermill Court
One former Bootham Park Hospital patient, called Ruth, said they had been involved in the smaller touches - including the artwork on the walls and the suggestion that patients should be able to watch Netflix, to avoid them sitting "watching Jeremy Kyle". She said the gardens around the hospital and a private visitor room, would also make people more relaxed.
She said: "[Bootham Park Hospital] is quite an austere building so it's a bit intimidating. The staff were always wonderful but the bedrooms were small and it wasn't comfortable. Not having a duvet on the bed is a throw back to another era.
"I think it's so much better, it's a whole world better than Bootham. It feels better, more like a hotel than a hospital in many ways. It's comfortable."
A team of about 20 staff, including nurses and occupational therapists, as well as consultants will be based at Peppermill Court.
Ruth Hill, director of operations for York and Selby for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), at Peppermill Court
Debate continues about where a permanent replacement for Bootham Park Hospital should be.
Expected to open in 2019, the new hospital will have 30 beds. A consultation over location will start in the autumn.
Some campaigners, including MP Rachael Maskell, believe it would be best suited to remain on the current site of Bootham Park Hospital. However, the trust has previously suggested its preference would be a new, purpose built hospital.
- NEW PLACE OF SAFETY
People detained with mental health problems in York and Selby will now be taken to a new place of safety at Peppermill Court.
A purpose-designed section 136 suite had been opened at Bootham Park Hospital in 2013, at a reported cost of £400,000, to ensure people in crisis were not taken to police cells.
It was temporarily closed as a result of concerns flagged up by the Care Quality Commission last year and re-opened in December after further work was carried out.
The place of safety is now being moved to Peppermill Court as it is better in terms of "adjacency of staff", Ms Hill said.
The 24-hour crisis team, which employs about 30 people, is also being moved to an office at Peppermill Court.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel