New emergency department opens at £47m centre in Scarborough
Managers say it'll make a huge difference to patients
The Emergency Department is set to open today at Scarborough Hospital’s new £47 million Urgent and Emergency Care Centre.
The purpose-built facility will bring together the hospital’s Emergency Department, Urgent Treatment Centre, and Same Day Emergency Care services under one roof. It is designed to streamline care, improve patient experience, and support modern approaches to treatment—helping more people receive care closer to home where appropriate.
Ed Smith, Emergency Medicine Consultant at Scarborough Hospital, described the opening as a transformational moment for the site. “It’s a brand-new, state-of-the-art building that is going to make a really obvious and powerful difference to the patient experience from the start of their journey within the hospital.”
“We don’t want people to be in hospital unless they absolutely have to be. A lot of the developments within the centre are designed to encourage patients to be managed as close to home as possible, supported by therapy teams and other clinical teams to get them home.
"But for those patients who do need to be in hospital, they will have access to the most up-to-date equipment and modern facilities the NHS has to offer."
“It’s a real step change in our ability to care for patients the way we want to—with space and appropriate equipment to do our jobs to the best of our ability.”
He also asked for the public’s understanding during the transition. “As with any new building, there will be some teething troubles and snags. And staff are adapting to a completely new environment. So if you do need to use our services—though we hope you don’t—we just ask for a little patience while we settle in.”