Hospital unit to move into former care home

A hospital unit is to be relocated to a former council-run care home so its A&E department can be upgraded, a council has said.

Plans have been approved to move the therapies and psychology unit at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield to Queen Elizabeth House in Eastmoor so the revamp can go ahead.

The building will be repurposed to create 19 new consulting rooms, therapy rooms, staff changing rooms, offices and parking for nearly 80 vehicles.

A Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust spokesperson said: "By redesigning our pathways and creating modern, purpose‑built environments, we can ensure patients are assessed more quickly, receive safer care and experience fewer delays."

The trust bought the building, which is located around 450m (1,476ft) from the main hospital site, for just less than £1m after Wakefield Council put it up for sale last year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It ceased operating as a care home a number of years ago and was used as a vaccination centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Then in February, the trust also announced it had been awarded £9m from NHS England to help ease pressure on urgent and emergency care services at Pinderfields.

Its planning statment said: "A need has been identified for more space at the existing Pinderfields Hospital to accommodate an expanded A&E department."

The document also said a range of professionals, including physiotherapists, speech therapists, dietitians, and psychologists, would be based at the new facility from Monday to Friday.

The trust previously said it planned to create a new acute medical floor at Pinderfields by relocating the medical same-day emergency care unit to a purpose‑built space alongside the acute medical unit.

Other departments, including gynaecology and obstetric services, are also expected to be relocated within the hospital site to make way for the expansion.

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