Work has begun to demolish more old and unused hospital buildings as part of a programme of works to further improve the site at South Tyneside District Hospital and make way for future investments.
An old building known as ‘The Leas’ and a neighbouring block of flats once used as staff accommodation, have been out of use for some years and are no longer fit for purpose. Both buildings border Harton Lane and preparations to bring them down have started after a notice of demolition was sent to South Tyneside Council.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation has prepared an information leaflet for neighbouring residents to let them know about the demolition works and the wider investments taking place to improve the hospital site.
Click here to read the leaflet
This is the latest step in an ambitious programme of development in South Tyneside following the announcement of over £15 million investment into services at South Tyneside District Hospital made by healthcare leaders last year
Construction is now gathering pace on the flagship £10m Integrated Diagnostic Centre (IDC), which will provide additional MRI and CT scanning capacity to allow more patients in South Tyneside and Sunderland to be seen quicker. For the first time ever, the new IDC facility in South Tyneside will also house a PET-CT scanner, meaning patients will no longer need to travel to Newcastle or Middlesbrough if they have a suspected cancer diagnosis.
The IDC is being built by Sunderland firm Brims in partnership with Alliance Medical and is on land where an empty nurses’ home previously stood.
Work will also take place later this year to remove the old pharmacy Portakabins opposite the Ingham Wing. This follows the opening of a new state-of-the-art outpatient pharmacy, situated inside the main hospital building in October last year thanks to a £800,000 investment from the Trust.
The new pharmacy features a top of the range robot, which automatically dispenses medication at the touch of a button helping to reduce waiting times for people picking up prescriptions.
Last year also saw the opening of a new £2m Endoscopy suite in South Tyneside and Trust leaders have also confirmed a £3m investment to create a new fit-for-purpose Critical Care Unit at South Tyneside District Hospital.
Peter Sutton, Director of Planning and Business Development at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said: “For many years we have outlined our commitment to provide ongoing investment into our hospital site in South Tyneside so it is great to see work starting to take shape. Many of these projects have been a long time in the pipeline and although the pandemic has slowed us down, work is now very much gathering pace.
“As we invest in new facilities, it is important that we also remove old, unused buildings as this saves us doing unnecessary costly maintenance work and means the site is also ready for future development. The commitment we have made through our £15m investment programme will see state-of-the-art facilities for the people of South Tyneside for many years to come.
“We would like to thank patients, visitors and local residents for their understanding as these works progress. There will be some disruption on site as demolition and building work takes place but please do bear with us. The end result will be much improved facilities for both our patients and staff.”
