Opening on Monday 12 August, the new unit within the Emergency Department (ED), marks a significant enhancement in the care provided to critically ill or injured patients.
With spacious rooms and a dedicated paediatric area, the unit ensures staff have immediate access to essential life-saving equipment in a purpose-built environment.
This upgrade underscores the hospital’s commitment to delivering specialised emergency care where time is of the essence, thanks to the skill, experience, and dedication of the medical and nursing teams.
The new unit not only transforms care for critically ill patients but also improves working conditions for staff and supports family members with a dedicated relatives’ room. This private space offers loved ones the privacy they need during distressing times.
Jill Patterson, Clinical Director for ED, shared the significance of the new area. She said: “We are very pleased our Resus Team can relocate into this purpose-designed area. With better access routes from our ED and for ambulance crews, this new area allows us to deliver Lifesaving treatment for critical unwell or injured patients in a modern purpose designed environment. The increased space in each dedicated resus room improves the environment for accommodating the number of multidisciplinary team members and essential equipment.
“Alongside the improved environment the investment in providing updated resus equipment, such as new anaesthetic and ultrasound machines, is extremely appreciated by staff and improves patient care and efficiency further. The rooms have been designed closely with clinical staff to realise the importance of maintaining patient dignity, privacy and noise reduction whilst still allowing oversight and observation of the critically unwell patients.
“It’s an exciting development for our ED team, and we are all pleased to see it come to fruition.”
This new facility represents further planned investment by the Trust, marking the latest step in an ongoing journey to enhance emergency department facilities and improve patient flow throughout the hospital. In 2023-24 the QEH took care of 88,970 people in its Emergency Department and last October, a newly configured ED was opened to patients, offering increased space for ambulance handovers and an improved layout.
The QEH’s efforts to enhance patient care have been recognised, with the hospital named among the top 10 most improved NHS trusts for reducing patient wait times for Urgent and Emergency Care.
In March, over 70% of patients attending the ED or front-door services were seen, treated, and either discharged or moved to a ward bed within four hours of arrival. This performance has been maintained from April to June.
Simon Illingworth, Chief Operating Officer, commented: “This new area is a substantial investment in patient care and staff wellbeing – we know it will make a real difference. A big thank you to every individual involved in the design and build of this new area – thank you for making this much-needed space for patients and staff a reality.”
Ends. Notes to editors; For media enquiries only, please contact Communications Team, media.enquiries@qehkl.nhs.uk or 01553 613216. For all other enquiries, please contact QEH Switchboard on 01553 613613.
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