The £33.5m urgent and emergency care expansion at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon is the biggest ever investment in the hospital site, according to Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which manages the hospital.
This investment follows the opening of the Urgent Treatment Centre and the radiotherapy services provided to Great Western Hospital by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, also reflecting another huge investment in Swindon’s healthcare infrastructure, according to Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
With a 60% footprint, the new Emergency Department, and accompanying Children’s Emergency Unit, and improved same-day emergency care service, will ensure unplanned healthcare provision is fit for the increasing demand and growing population of the town.
In terms of funding for the build of the new urgent and emergency care department, £26.3m of Government funding was secured in January last year with an additional £7.2m from the Trust.
The £33.5m urgent and emergency care expansion at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon is the biggest ever investment in the hospital site
Following some final remedial work, the Emergency Department opened to the public in September, with all ambulances handing over patients to the new department and walk-in patients being triaged to the Emergency Department via the Urgent Treatment Centre.
The new Emergency Department has an increase in ‘majors cubicles’ from 15 to 22 (45%), which are more private with glass doors instead of curtains, and individual environmental controls such as dimmable lighting.
To support patients in a more critical or life-threatening condition, there is now an increase in resuscitation cubicles from four to seven – with one new resus bay dedicated to children.
There will also be a secluded room for patients in mental health crisis, a more comfortable observation area, and two supportive relatives’ rooms set away from the bustle of the main department.
In terms of funding for the build of the new urgent and emergency care department, £26.3m of Government funding was secured in January last year with an additional £7.2m from the Trust
Work is also underway to improve urgent and emergency care for under 18s, with the Trust also set to open a new Children’s Emergency Unit, which is the first of its kind on the hospital site, later this year.
The Children’s Emergency Unit will have 13 cubicles, two high acuity bays and one resuscitation bay (an increase of 33%), a baby and breastfeeding room, a sensory plan room for children who are neurodiverse, and a wellbeing room for younger patients arriving in mental health crisis.
Julian Auckland-Lewis, Director for the Trust’s capital development Way Forward Programme, added: "When the hospital was opened in 2002, the Emergency Department was designed to care for around 48,000 patients a year. As the local population has grown, the urgent and emergency services now see over 100,000 patients a year – more than double.
The Emergency Department was designed to care for around 48,000 patients a year
"It is hoped that the increase in physical capacity in the new departments, and new ways of working that are more innovative and efficient, will result in shorter waiting times for our patients and less ambulances queuing to hand over patients.
"We also continue to work hard with our partners in the Trust’s own Integrated Care Alliance Coordination Centre, and more widely across Swindon and Wiltshire, to ensure patients are treated in the right place, have ongoing care packages in place outside of hospital and don’t spend any longer in hospital than is needed; all of which improve flow through the healthcare system and help to reduce the time people wait at the front door."
Natalie Lawrence, Lead Nurse for the urgent and emergency care development, said: “It’s a really exciting time for the organisation, as we move towards a real improvement to our delivery of care for some of the sickest patients in the local area.
The new Emergency Department has an increase in ‘majors cubicles’ from 15 to 22 (45%), which are more private
"We have made big changes to the way we provide this care in the new department, and are now looking at how we can better streamline services to make them more efficient, and to ensure that patients are treated in the right place, the first time.
"We’ve also been working with local people to ensure that the interiors of the building best meet all care needs, including with representation from dementia, learning disability and autism communities, children and young persons mental health, carers, wheelchair users and people with neurodiversities.
"This means we have been able to create spaces that are more welcoming and comfortable and feel less like a clinical hospital setting, as we know that, ultimately, the environment we care for patients in has a huge impact on their ongoing recovery."
