Felixstowe General set to re-open
FELIXSTOWE'S newly-refurbished hospital should open next month - and the Bartlet close forever.Campaigners who fought to save Felixstowe General say they have been told the £1.
FELIXSTOWE'S newly-refurbished hospital should open next month - and the Bartlet close forever.
Campaigners who fought to save Felixstowe General say they have been told the £1.76 million project is almost complete and staff should start moving back into the building in mid-January.
The hospital in Constable Road has been transformed into a modern community health centre and will feature a wide range of clinics which will mean many people at the resort will not have to travel to Ipswich Hospital for appointments.
Roy Gray, chairman of the Felixstowe Save Our Hospitals Action Group, said: “We have been told the move back into the hospital will start in the middle of January in three phases and the hospital should be officially re-opened towards the end of the month.
“That is fantastic news for the people of Felixstowe and we are delighted.
“We understand the work has gone very well and we cannot wait to see what the finished building looks like inside.
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“There will be sadness at the loss of the Bartlet, which everyone wanted to keep, but having a general hospital, minor injuries unit and a variety of clinics has always been a top priority because that is vitally important for a town of this size.”
Officials at Suffolk Primary Care Trust say the refurbished hospital will make “a vast difference to health provision for people in Felixstowe and the surrounding area” and bring health and social care professionals under one roof, making it far easier for them to work effectively.
The project is creating five single rooms, one twin, one room with four beds and one with five beds - a total of 16 in-patient beds - at the General.
There will be a new reception, a lift to open up the use of the second floor of the building, new dining area, a single storey dayroom, linen cupboard and cleaning store, and better toilets, showers and bathrooms and disabled facilities.
There will also be a minor operations suite and a children's centre, paid for by funds donated by the community through the Evening Star's Helping Our Children appeal, along with more than 20 clinics.
Once the departments have been moved back, the Bartlet's doors will be closed and the building will await sale and redevelopment.
What do you think the Bartlet should become? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk
