South Yorkshire times, January 18.
Conisbrough Scheme is abandoned.
Sheffield Regional Hospital Board have agreed with the Ministry of Health that a scheme to develop Crookhill Hall, Conisbrough, as a psychiatric hospital should be abandoned. Instead a smaller unit is to be built at the rear of Tickhill Road and St Catherine’s Hospital, Doncaster, making use of certain services at those hospitals.
Originally the Board proposed to build a 400 bed medium stay psychiatric hospital at Crookhill Hall to serve the needs of the Doncaster and Rotherham areas, but the Minister of Health decided that Rotherham should have its own psychiatric beds and the scheme was amended to a 200 bed establishment catering for Doncaster only to be run in association with an acute unit of 80 beds, with 35 places for day patients at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
A recalculation found that only 120 beds are needed for rehabilitative treatment, with provision for day patients.
A Board official told the “South Yorkshire Times” that at present Crookhill Hall was on a care and maintenance basis. It was closed as a TB hospital in the middle of last year because of difficulty in staffing it and they were able to redistribute beds elsewhere in the Group.
He added, “We have no use for the existing building. It is a question of the site being used but we have not investigated this and no decision has been reached.”
South Yorkshire Times January 11.