NHS bosses say they remain committed to a North Yorkshire community hospital amid fears it is “drifting towards closure” — but no assurances have been provided on the future of a much-valued ward providing end-of-life care.
The update on the Friary Community Hospital in Richmond comes after town councillor John Harris spoke out about his difficulties obtaining information on the future of the hospital.
Concerns have grown after it emerged earlier this year that staff working in the facility’s Victoria Ward had been told the unit could close.
The nurse-led ward offers services including palliative care, rehabilitation following general surgery and orthopaedic surgery.
It is understood that senior doctors at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are considering whether some services can be provided in patients’ own homes, with a new Hospital at Home service being pioneered by Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.
Cllr Harris, a member of the Friends of the Friary Group but speaking independently of the organisation, said his efforts to obtain information on the fate of the hospital had been obstructed by the complex ownership structure of the hospital.
He said the hospital needed urgent work to ensure it was fit for the future, including a new lift, improvements to the water supply and measures to ensure patients’ safety around an open stairwell, but the stakeholders appeared to be dragging their feet over the work.
The hospital is owned by a private landlord, Primary Medical Property Investments Limited (PMPIL), but leased to NHS Property Services for a reported sum of around £1m a year.
It is then partly operated by the South Tees trust which is commissioned to provide services by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).
The councillor said: “I am concerned with the apparent drift towards closure of the Friary without any clear democratic accountability.
“There is confusion about who has the authority to decide about the future of the Friary.”
Cllr Harris added: “I have known four people who died in the Friary — a doctor, a teacher and former RDC chair, a Richmond town mayor and a local reporter.
“We owe people like that the chance to die in the comfort of their own community, not in isolation down in Thirsk.
“There is a strong case for keeping the Friary, but just letting the issue drift into obscurity, in secret, is a sign of a weak democracy.”
In response, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board said it “remained committed to a positive future for the Friary Hospital”.
A spokesperson added: “We have been working with partners to develop a strategic future for the facility dependent upon partnership collaboration and affordability.
“We believe this is a vision that will very much align with the Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, which is due to be published later this year and will set out a new direction for the NHS.”
A spokesperson for South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement: “As we continue to develop our hospital group model, we are looking to provide innovative ways of caring to improve both patient experience and patient outcomes.
“We are currently reviewing the way we provide all of our services to ensure we provide equal access to treatment and deliver care closer
to home.”
NHS Property Services said more than £1m has been invested at the Friary since 2022 and the landlord had confirmed funding available for repairs to the lift, with modifications to the stairwell also being discussed.
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Perhaps look at the recent power grab from north Tees who are draining south Tees for funding for their own sites and services, or Liebour who are cutting fundings.