Teesside is the proud home of the biggest hospital in Europe named after one of the region's best known figures. Health reporter Audrey Forbes reports. Dubbed the 'super-hospital' the James Cook University Hospital is the result of a complete £150m modernisation. The state-of-the-art medical facility stands in the place of Middlesbrough's once best know South Cleveland Hospital and opened its doors two years ago. Walk into the hospital and you are greeted by an enormous glass atrium which was designed to create a beautiful area that is light and airy. The walls and ceiling are also decorated with stunning art from local artists, based around the theme of explorer Captain Cook while landscaped courtyards and a selection of shops are scattered across the site. The excellent facilities at the site cover an area that takes in North Yorkshire, South Durham and Cumbria - as well as Teesside. The facility now houses more than 1,000 beds in 60,000sqm of new accommodation. This is in addition to 11,000sqm of refurbished buildings. And that's all within surroundings that have been planned to painstaking detail by the architects. A central mall runs through the building, connecting outpatient departments on the ground floor from the north entrance right through to the new south doors. Related departments lie next to each other, or above one another, ensuring easy access for patients requiring a particular type of service. This 'institute' concept means cardiothoracic, neurosciences, cancer services and children's departments are grouped together, to avoid patients being transported across the site. Since the grand opening, cardiothorasic services at the hospital have been hailed as among the best in the country. The unit deals with more than 1,250 heart attack patients each year and its research takes the national and international stage. Dr Mike Stewart, clinical director for cardiology, believes the unit is one of the biggest in the country in terms of operations and treatments. "In several areas there are leading edge innovations in terms of new ways of treating heart disease taking place here," he says. Praise has come from the highest ranks with Dr Roger Boyle, the Department of Health's national director for heart disease, branding it a flagship centre for heart treatment. "It probably the most efficient unit in the country and the sort of model we would like others to build their own services," he said. Of all the patients seen at the site, more than half of them are as an emergency. The accident and emergency department provides a service for people living south of the Tees, but is a major trauma centre for people from a much wider area, hence the need for the nearby helipad. "There is a golden hour after someone has been injured where, if they receive treatment in this time, they have a better chance of survival," said accident and emergency consultant Mr Kyee Han. "We can get more minutes of this precious time if we receive the patient directly, and that's what's important. "When we designed the centre we wanted the helipad to be right next door to it." Special features include a regional spinal injuries unit, comprising of a high-dependency ward, five rehabilitation wards with specially designed bathrooms, single rooms, a restaurant, out-patient suite and half-way house. The Holistic Cancer Care Centre provides complementary therapies to ease stresses and strains for cancer patients. | 
ERW
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