Royal Surrey to Invest £6.9million in Overstretched A&E Department

Published on: 28 Jun, 2017
Updated on: 28 Jun, 2017

The entrance to the Accident & Emergency department at the Royal Surrey County Hospital

The Royal Surrey County Hospital has announced plans to invest £6.9 million in its Accident and Emergency Department.

The ambitious project will see the busy department increase in size by a massive 46%, and include a new out of hours GP Assessment Unit.

It will also see A&E Majors, Minors and Paediatrics be completely remodeled to further enhance patient care and experience.

The announcement comes after the hospital trust was awarded £1million by the Department of Health to ease pressure in time for next winter. The further £5.9 million will come from the trust’s capital plan budget.

Chief executive, Paula Head, said: “Last winter was really difficult for the trust and as a result we weren’t always able to deliver the patient experience we would have liked in our A&E department.

“Together with our staff, community service providers and social care teams we have put in an incredibly amount of hard work and since March the department has consistently been hitting the target to treat 95% of patients within four hours.

“I am delighted to say the trust now has one of the best performing A&E departments nationally. Through remodeling and expanding our A&E department we can work on the fantastic progress that has already been made by the team and ensure the clinical environment reflects the high quality care we offer.

“The project will provide a greater space to assess and treat our most seriously ill patients, as well as providing a more efficient environment for our staff to work in.

“For our patients, the new increased space will offer a rapid assessment, as well as more dignity and privacy.

“The GP Assessment Unit will also have a significant impact on reducing waiting times, by making sure that patients can be treated by GPs on site.”

The A&E department will remain operational throughout the works which will be completed in phases to minimise disruption.

Building work is already underway, with the GP Assessment Unit set to be completed by November this year. The final phase of the project is due to be concluded in October 2018.

Share This Post