Introduction
This is a joint briefing from the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS Humber Health Partnership (HHP).
This follows several discussions, led by HHP, with staff, stakeholders and local provider organisations over the past few weeks to consider the various opportunities for the provision of health services in Goole. We acknowledge the news has caused concern amongst local people and has led to some misinformation being circulated.
HHP has updated the ICB on the work delivered so far and the purpose of this briefing is to jointly provide clarity on the current position regarding NHS services at Goole and District Hospital (GDH) as at today, 20 March 2025. On 17 March 2025, the pre-election period for local and Mayoral elections, which places some restrictions on information which the NHS can share, began. No further updates will be provided until after the Mayoral election which takes place on 1 May 2025.
Background
GDH is a community hospital located on Woodland Avenue, Goole, DN14 6RX which is owned and run by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust (part of NHS Humber Health Partnership). Other services are also provided on the site by other providers, including the Urgent Treatment Centre (run by City Health Care Partnership), ambulance station, GP practice and a Children’s Day Nursery.
We can confirm that there are no plans to close GDH and we are committed to developing sustainable services for the future that meet the needs of people in and around Goole and Howdenshire. It is very important that all our services offer safe, high quality care that is cost effective and meets the changing needs of our local communities.
However, we are continuing to consider how best to maximise the use of GDH, how best to use the skills and expertise of our Goole based staff and to understand how community-based services may be better delivered in the future.
The current position
To date, we have met with staff, partners and stakeholders who have developed several suggestions for the future of GDH which we need time to fully assess.
We would like to thank everyone who has helped HHP to consider a range of initial ideas for GDH and everyone who has engaged with the process so far. There is significant support from the local community for GDH and we understand how valued its services and staff are to local residents.
What is being done
In terms of services within the hospital, the work we will be doing over the coming months includes:
- Continue with the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC)
- Review existing care provision, like end-of-life care, in the local area to see how more people can be cared for in their own homes.
- Improve community midwifery by joining up current provision in the town.
- Enhance outpatient and diagnostic activity for Goole and Howdenshire residents.
- Evaluate future demand for mobile CT/MRI provision.
- Work with national NHS colleagues to undertake a review of the surgery/theatre provision to explore and determine if Goole is suitable to be a regional centre for some types of surgery.
- Work with national and regional NHS colleagues on ways specialist neurorehabilitation can be best provided to meet the needs of patients across Humber and North Yorkshire
In terms of the hospital estate, we will:
- Assess current and future power provision for all activity.
- Work up options and costings for the site’s infrastructure.
- Discuss with potential partners how vacant areas could be used.
- Explore investment options to upgrade the building, facilities and footprint.
This is a complicated piece of work which we expect to take around six months.
In the meantime, services at Goole and District Hospital will remain as they are until these pieces of work are undertaken and decisions are made.
Some key facts about what happens at Goole and District Hospital today
There is no emergency department at GDH and ambulances do not attend carrying people who require emergency treatment. These patients are taken to other hospitals with an emergency department open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There is an urgent treatment centre (UTC) at the front of GDH which is open 7am to 8pm every day. It sees around 50 people each day: most walk in without an appointment and some attend after being advised to do so by the NHS 111 service.
Goole is the most common location for hospital outpatient appointments for people living locally, with more than 15,000 taking place every year for people living in DN14 postcodes. However, for every two face-to-face appointments that take place at GDH three take place in other hospitals. This is because some patients from Goole and Howdenshire need specialist treatment (like radiotherapy) or need to see specialist teams of staff based elsewhere. Therefore, on average, there are around 62 journeys per day from Goole and Howdenshire to other hospital sites around the Humber for face-to-face outpatient appointments.
Goole has seven wards, four of which are in use:
- Medicine step-down ward (Ward 3) is for patients who have had their initial treatment at Scunthorpe General Hospital but are not quite well enough to go home or are waiting for extra care or support in their home to be put in place so they can return home. On average around six in ten of the patients in Ward 3 are people from the Goole area, most of the rest are from North Lincolnshire with a small number coming from further afield like Hull, Gainsborough or Grimsby.
- Neurorehabilitation centre (Ward 4) is a regional centre which takes patients from a wider area who need specialist care following a brain injury or other event. Very few people who live in Goole and Howdenshire have used this service in the past few years.
- There are two surgery wards:
- Surgical ward (Ward 6) for patients who have surgery and need to stay in overnight.
- Day surgery (Ward 7) for patients who have surgery and can go home on the same day.
Patients from DN14 postcodes account for less than a quarter (22% in 2023/24) of the patients having surgery at GDH. Nearly twice as many (1,500) patients travel from North Lincolnshire each year, with a smaller number (600) travelling from North East Lincolnshire.
There are two operating theatres and a dedicated eye surgery suite at GDH and around 16 patients a day receive surgery for one of the three areas that are routinely offered:
- Eye surgery
- Conditions affecting the urinary tract, including the kidneys and bladder
- Bones and joints
If patients require any other kind of surgery, like heart or plastic surgery, dental, stomach, liver, breast or any other surgery, they go to another hospital in the region with the specialist staff available to look after them.
Patients may also need to travel further if they need surgery and have other health condition like diabetes or heart disease. This is because these patients might need access to further interventions, like high dependency or intensive care, after their surgery which is not available at GDH.
The hospital runs antenatal clinics, including scans, and postnatal clinics as part of the midwifery offer. There is a ‘home from home’ room in the hospital where women with lower risk pregnancies can choose to give birth with the support of community midwives. Eight babies were born here during 2023/24. Less than 3 in 100 women from Goole chose to use this facility, with most (168 in 2023/24) opting to go to Scunthorpe to give birth.
Outpatient clinics and the UTC have access to some diagnostic facilities like x-rays and ultrasound scans. Local GP surgeries can also send people to GDH to have their x-rays and scans. Mobile MRI and CT units visit the site on a regular basis so patients from Goole and Howdenshire can have these types of scans locally.
Next steps
NHS England has a clear process for service change proposals described in national guidance. Any proposals for substantive service change would need to be led by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and assured by NHS England.
Following the local and Mayoral elections in May, we look forward to involving the local community, staff and key stakeholders more fully as we work through potential ideas and options for the Hospital and for the delivery of health services in Goole. However, we recognise that people may also have questions about this work.
Any questions from the public can be directed to the ICB via [email protected] and we will endeavour to answer these following the elections.
Any questions from staff should be directed to NHS Humber Health Partnership or your own line manager / employer in the first instance.
20 March 2025
