Health staff begin move to town’s new £15m hospital

It has taken just 15 months to complete construction work on the New Selby War Memorial Hospital at the new Doncaster Road site, which has cost more than £15m.

The chairman of York teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Alan Rose, said: “We are looking forward to moving staff and patients into this fantastic new hospital.

“This is an exciting milestone in the integration of hospital and community services in the York and Selby area.”

The keys to Selby’s new joint community hospital and civic centre have been handed over to the NHS and Selby District Council and staff are now working around the clock to be able to greet their first patients.

The development will create a new council headquarters as well as the 24-bed community hospital, which will employ 116 staff and have 54 consulting rooms.

It is hoped that health and council services will be streamlined by creating a joint base in Doncaster Road in Selby on the site of the existing War Memorial Hospital.

It will also be a more cost-effective use of public funds as maintenance and day-to-day running costs will be lower compared to the existing civic centre and hospital buildings.

The leader of Selby District Council, Mark Crane, said: “This project has been delivered on time and on budget and just shows what can be achieved for our community.”

District council staff are due to relocate to their new office on August 1.

The council’s customer contact centre at Market Cross, Selby, will continue to be the main public office for its services.

The original Selby War Memorial Hospital was built in 1927 and was named in honour of First World War veterans.

However, the original site has been deemed out-dated and is now being replaced by the new multi-million-pound development.

Prior to a stone being set there was intense discussion as to whether it should be named Selby Community Hospital or the New Selby War Memorial Hospital.