WORK has started on the creation of additional capacity at Worcestershire Royal Hospital to help ease ongoing urgent and emergency care pressures.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has received an extra £8 million capital funding from NHS England and Improvement to create a 30-place short stay Clinical Admissions Unit which will offer a greatly improved experience of care for patients who are waiting to be transferred to a ward after being seen in the Emergency Department (ED).
It will also help to free up space in the ED, ease pressure on ED staff, reduce waiting times and improve ambulance handovers.
The new temporary unit will be in an unoccupied area on the first floor of Worcestershire Oncology Centre and the aim is for the unit to be built and ready to receive patients before the end of February.
Paul Brennan, Deputy Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been fortunate to receive a significant amount of national funding to support the efforts of our health and care teams who are working incredibly hard to care for patients in need of urgent and emergency care. We are looking forward to the new Clinical Admissions Unit opening to further support these efforts and help us ensure patients receive safe and timely care.
“Additionally, plans to transform urgent and emergency care services at Worcestershire Royal Hospital (WRH) – which will see the relocation and expansion of the Hospital’s Emergency Department, Medical Assessment Unit and Ambulatory Emergency Care hosting a wide range of diagnostic and treatment services – are already well underway, with a plan to be fully operational by the end of 2022.”
With all parts of the health and care system continuing to face significant pressures, members of the public continue to be encouraged to play their part by getting their Covid and flu vaccinations and taking precautions to keep themselves safe and healthy.
Where local people do need urgent care, they are encouraged to choose wisely from all the services which are available, including their local pharmacy, GPs, Minor Injuries Units and NHS111, and only use the Emergency Departments for the most serious illness and injuries.