- 1980 – South Cleveland Hospital built
- November 1981 – South Cleveland Hospital opened by Duchess of Kent
- April 1992 – Officially became a trust
- January 1993 – heart unit opens
- 1999 – A multi-million pound concession agreement with Mowlem (John) and Co was signed for the redevelopment of the South Cleveland Hospital site under a PFI (private finance initiative)
- November 2000 – Became South Tees Acute Hospital NHS Trust
- 2001 – South Cleveland Hospital was renamed The James Cook University Hospital to reflect its local heritage and growing research and academic links.
- April 2002 – The trust merged with the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton
- August 2003 – A PFI initiative to transfer our Middlesbrough services onto the one site at James Cook was completed. The scheme meant the closure of Middlesbrough General Hospital, North Riding Infirmary and the neuro-rehabilitation unit at West Lane Hospital
- 2007 – A £21million redevelopment of the Friarage was completed
- May 2009 – We became a Foundation Trust
- August 2011 – Community services from Hambleton, Richmondshire, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland joined our organisation as part of the government’s Transforming Community Services agenda
- April 2012 – James Cook becomes a major trauma centre for Durham, East Cleveland, Tees Valley and North Yorkshire
- May 2012 – The Endeavour Unit opened at James Cook. The state-of-the-art radiotherapy centre was part of a £35million service expansion, placing the Middlesbrough hospital among the best in Europe for cancer treatment
- 2014 – Robotic surgery launched at James Cook when the hospital revealed its first da Vinci robot
- December 2018 – The Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre opened at The Friarage
- January 2020 – The children’s critical care unit at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough became one of the first units of its kind in the country
- 2020 – Laboratory teams at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were amongst the first in the country to develop round the clock on-site testing for COVID-19
- November 2020 – We became one of only three NHS trusts in the country to have three of its own surgical robots
- December 2020 – The James Cook University Hospital became one of the world’s first COVID vaccination centres.
- March 2021 – A new renal unit officially opens at the Friarage.
- July 2021 – New medical education centre opened at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton
- July 2021 – The children’s scoliosis and spinal team at The James Cook University Hospital performs its 200th paediatric spinal deformity operation.
- September 2022 – New £5million diagnostic hub opens at the Friarage.
