York Hospital Open Day

York Hospital is preparing to throw open its doors to the public on Tuesday 17 September to offer an exclusive insider look at some of the hospital departments.

This unique event will enable visitors to discover more about the daily workings of the hospital and the services provided.  It also includes interactive tours and seminars, giving people a chance to find out what goes on behind the scenes within the hospital, not normally seen by the public.

There are several tours and seminars throughout the day, including the rare opportunity to peek inside the city’s mortuary where our qualified technicians will take you through the processes and procedures of their department.  The mortuary service ensures respect, dignity and sensitivity in handling the deceased and in playing a vital role in supporting bereaved families, while also ensuring strict health and safety guidelines are followed.  The tour offers an opportunity to ask our technicians your questions.

We are also offering a tour of the boiler house at York Hospital, which powers the whole site.  Our advanced combined heat and power system was installed to save almost 3,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and cut energy costs by £848,000. See how it keeps the hospital running and how thousands of tonnes of waste are converted into energy.

The laboratory medicine tour will let visitors see the hidden world of laboratory medicine, also known as pathology.  The labs play a huge role behind the scenes testing clinical specimens to help diagnose, treat and prevent disease in patients right across the region.  Lab tests are vital in diagnosing health conditions and the skilled services of laboratory staff helps get the best results and treatment for patients.

Visitors can find out more about all the different tours and seminars on offer and sign up for free online at: www.york.nhs.uk/opendays2019/open-days-2019-tours-and-seminars/

Spaces are limited and offered on a first come, first served basis.

Over 50 information stands will provide an insider’s guide to some of the hospital’s more specialised services such as dermatology, psychological medicine, infection prevention and biochemistry - and lots, lots more.  Our catering team will also be on hand offering tempting tasters of hospital food to try.

As part of the day, we are offering an opportunity to hop on board the new 'Hospital Bus' for free - to see just how easy and convenient it is.  The bus, which runs every 10 minutes, will drop you off right outside York Hospital's front door.  Visitors coming to the open day who catch the bus before 12.00pm from Rawcliffe Bar will receive a free return ticket, which can be used back to the park and ride anytime up to 4.30pm.

For those interested in opportunities and careers in the NHS, there will be recruitment and specialist staff on hand to offer advice.  For anyone who want to get involved with hospital life there will be an opportunity to sign up for a skydive to raise vital funds for York Teaching Hospital Charity and information on hand about how to join our army of volunteers.

Simon Morritt, chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs York Hospital, said: “It is great to see the enthusiasm from large numbers of our staff who are putting together displays, planning tours, and opening up their work areas for the public.

“The open day is a fantastic opportunity to discover more about the hospital and the wider Trust.  We hope as many people as possible take the opportunity to find out more about who we are and what we do.”

The open day runs from 11.00am until 2.00pm and takes place in the main entrance of the York Hospital.

The event is aimed at patients, local residents, current or potential staff, and foundation trust members.  All are welcome to attend.

19 August 2019