Bishop Auckland Hospital is a small

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

district general hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...

serving the western part of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, with a primarily rural catchment area centred on the

Wear Valley Wear Valley was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council and district capital was Crook. The district covered much of the Weardale area. In the west it was parished and rural, whereas in the east ...

. The hospital is managed by the

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust based in North East England. It runs two acute hospitals in University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital as well as further non-acute centres at ...

History

The original hospital in the town, known as the Bishop Auckland Infirmary, was built in around 1910. It joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

as the Bishop Auckland General Hospital in 1948. The new hospital was procured under a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

contract to replace the old Bishop Auckland General Hospital. It was built by

Shepherd Building Group Shepherd Building Group Ltd is a family owned business, based in York, that manufactures, leases and sells modular buildings in the UK and Europe. Its Portakabin and Portaloo brands are frequently treated as generic terms for modular buildings ...

at a cost of £66 million and opened in June 2002. Facilities management services are provided by

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...

. The hospital had around 286 beds when it opened, but the number has since been cut substantially. The loss of the special care baby unit (SCBU) in October 2007 created much controversy.Hospital admits stillbirth mistakes
at www.timesonline.co.uk (accessed 18 October 2007) There was also controversy over the 'decline of services' generally at the hospital at that time.
at www.healthdemocracy.org.uk. Retrieved on 18 October 2007. In June 2009, it was announced that the hospital's children's ward would close from 1 July 2009, with all services transferred to Darlington and Durham, a decision that was attacked by campaigners against the hospital's downgrading, but defended by NHS management on the basis of

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

specialists being "spread too thin". The hospital lost its acute services in October 2009. The reasons given for this by the trust were that services were being spread too thinly and there were insufficient doctors, money and resources to run three A&E departments within the trust efficiently. However opponents to this view argued that the downgrading of emergency services meant that people in the Wear Valley area would have to travel significantly further to access A&E services and that this could mean the difference between life and death. The local council spent much money on protesting against the closure of services at the hospital.

Facilities

From October 2009 the hospital has a treatment centre for planned operations, a centre of excellence for hip and knee replacement.

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Hospital buildings completed in 2002 NHS hospitals in England Hospitals in County Durham

Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

2002 establishments in England

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links