July opening for new Durham Treatment Centre

From July, thousands of patients across Durham and the surrounding areas will be able to access their specialist care locally at a new state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment centre.

The Durham Treatment Centre (DTC) situated just outside of the city centre, will welcome its first patients on Monday 2 July for urology and renal services and from August for ear, nose and throat, oral and maxillofacial surgery and ophthalmology services.

The DTC will provide a specialist hub for patients in the Durham area who have previously had to travel to Sunderland, Bishop Auckland, Shotley Bridge and Sacriston for their care. It will also see the Trust’s renal dialysis service move from its current premises in University Hospital of North Durham into the new purpose-built environment.

facility on Belmont Industrial Estate has been designed to give patients in the local area better access to key specialist services by City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

Services will include consultant and nurse-led outpatient clinics and day case surgery in a range of specialties which are provided by City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. These include:

• Renal medicine – care for patients with a range of kidney disorders including a spacious new 16 station dialysis unit
• Urology – diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the urinary tract including kidneys, bladder and prostate / male reproductive organs.
• Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) – specialist care for adults and children with conditions of the ear, nose and throat including, rhinology (nose and sinus problems), otology (diseases of the ear) and endocrine (thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands). Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck, including a head and neck oncology clinic and a one stop biopsy service
• Ophthalmology – specialist care for the eyes.

The purpose built facility has been designed with patient experience in mind and contains multiple outpatient clinic and treatment rooms and a day-case theatre with recovery areas.

Ken Bremner, Chief Executive of City Hospitals Sunderland and South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trusts said: “Our Durham Treatment Centre will improve the way that we provide services to patients in the local area and give them greater choice to access their treatment much closer to home. The building has been designed with patients firmly in mind and will provide a much better environment for those who are using our services regularly.

“The aim is to make sure that they are seen and treated quickly, but with the upmost dignity and respect and leave the centre with a great experience of their care at City Hospitals Sunderland. We very much look forward to welcoming patients from the start of July and expanding the range of services that we can offer locally to our Durham patients.”

and Durham-based Esh Build who both specialise in healthcare developments, as well as

Wayne Carr, Director for City Hospitals Independent Commercial Enterprises LTD (CHoICE), said: Our dedicated teams will be working hard to ensure we maintain this fantastic building and to support frontline clinical and nursing teams to deliver the very best patient care and an excellent experience.”

Tony Walters, Chief Executive OF Ashley House PLC, added: “Ashley House is delighted to have been able to lead the development of this fantastic facility for City Hospitals Sunderland. To have local day surgery, renal dialysis, ophthalmology and other health services delivered locally from a stunning new building is a real benefit for local people.
We are very appreciative of the partnering approach adopted by the Trust and their delivery arm City Hospitals Independent Commercial Enterprises Ltd (CHoICE) in making this happen. I should also like to thank our funding partners Assura, contractors Esh and architects P&HS for their work and support the development of this excellent new facility.”

Paul Redman, Divisional Director of Esh Construction, said: “We are very proud to have worked on the Durham Treatment Centre, which adds to the number of detailed, technical properties which we have specialised in for the healthcare sector. It was extremely important to us throughout the development that the centre provides purpose-built, high-quality and cutting-edge facilities which meet the demands seen in modern healthcare, though still having the flexibility for future growth. We can’t wait to hear the thoughts of patients when they begin making use of the services.”

Assura Development Manager, Paul Warwick, said: “Seeing this building taking shape has been hugely exciting and we look forward to seeing the first patients stepping through the doors. Ultimately, our funding of this project was about building for the NHS of the future – a future in which patients won’t always have to travel to hospital for tests and treatment.”