Steve Brine enjoyed a tour of what will soon be an extended emergency department and met staff at Royal Hampshire County Hospital when he paid a visit on Monday 17th December.
Building work is under way to create space for additional rapid assessment and treatment areas, as well as a paediatric assessment unit in the emergency department at Winchester hospital.
The rapid assessment and treatment areas will ensure that all patients coming into the emergency departments are cared for in the right environment for their needs sooner, as well as providing a better working environment for staff. In addition, the paediatric assessment unit will ensure that young patients who visit the emergency department have the best possible experience.
These changes have been made possible thanks to £4million in capital funding from the Department of Health and Social Care. The funding was approved for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in October and the building work is happening at a very accelerated pace.
Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals, showed Steve around what will be the extended emergency department, introducing him to senior medical and nursing staff. She said: “I’d like to thank Steve for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and see the work we are doing to make sure we can provide the best possible care to our patients in our emergency department at Winchester hospital.
“We are incredibly excited about the improvements that are taking place and it was really good to give Steve the opportunity to see how the emergency department will be laid out when the building work is completed.
“Changing the layout will help us provide a better environment and better care, making sure that patients remain at the heart of everything we do.”
Steve Brine said: “It really is excellent to see this work taking shape and the headline figures we band around, of record NHS investment, translated into tangible reality on the ground.
“The emergency department in Winchester has needed this for years and I hope this work sends a clear signal to patients, staff and those who may want to come and work here, that this is a hospital and a Trust with a bright future and safe, sustainable services those of us who live here can rely on.”
