Asbestos hospital opened to public

William Jones, director of operations for Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, said: “We felt that after the first public meeting in January people began to understand for the first time that there was a better future for services on the current memorial hospital site.

“Part of that belief is helping people see the difficulties in bringing the current building up to a fit standard for the 21st century.

“We will need to invest in the site in some way, but need to ensure that this provides a long-term answer to meeting the needs of people in Heanor and the surrounding area. These needs are changing all the time and services need to change accordingly.

“So we’ve set aside time to take people around so that they are fully able to take part in discussions about the future of the hospital. This is only one part of the discussions we are starting to have locally.” Anyone interested in the tours, which will take at the beginning of March, should call 01773 599482 on Monday 24 February or Tuesday 25 February between 8am and 6.30pm. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and callers will be limited to booking a maximum of two places on the tour.