A TRUST chief has branded critical care facilities at an ageing Teesside hospital “not fit for purpose”.
Covid patient numbers at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust were in single figures last week as trust leaders began to turn their attention to recovering the pandemic.
But rising maintenance costs and ageing infrastructure at North Tees Hospital are still causing headaches for health bosses.
Chief executive Julie Gillon told the latest trust board how improvements to capacity in critical care and the wider hospital estate were needed.
She said: “At this point in time, we’re working in an environment which is not fit for purpose in terms of infection prevention control, or indeed isolation, a working environment, or a patient environment.