Northallerton’s Friarage Hospital has officially opened its brand-new £35.5 million Surgical Centre, promising faster, high-quality care for thousands of patients across North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley.
Opened by Public Health Minister Ashley Dalton, local MP Rishi Sunak, and long-serving scrub nurse Anne Lamb, the state-of-the-art facility is set to double the number of planned operations at the hospital – delivering around 10,000 procedures a year.
The centre, designed with input from frontline theatre teams, includes:
- Six brand-new operating theatres
- Two minor theatres
- Recovery bays, admission and discharge areas
- Cutting-edge robotic and smart theatre technology
Accredited as a national surgical hub, the Friarage will focus on planned operations like hip and knee replacements, cancer surgery and gall bladder procedures, helping reduce NHS waiting times and prevent cancellations due to emergency pressures.
Lead nurse for the project, Sarah Baker, said: “Our old theatres were lovingly cared for but were not able to cope with the demands of new technology. After 10 years of planning, it is so rewarding to be able to give our patients such an amazing facility.”
Consultant surgeon Andrew Port highlighted that Friarage is now one of only 15 NHS centres in the UK offering robotic hip and knee replacement surgery.
The project has received strong support from local organisations including Friends of the Friarage and Northallerton Sixth Form College, which contributed artwork for the new building.
MP Rishi Sunak praised the new centre as a “world-class facility” that will secure the Friarage’s future as a key rural hospital.
For more information on the new centre, visit: https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/hospitals/friarage/friarage-surgical-hub/
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