£1.5m emergency care revamp at Royal Lancaster Infirmary (From The Westmorland Gazette)
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£1.5m emergency care revamp at Royal Lancaster Infirmary
2:22pm Wednesday 21st December 2011 in Lancaster news
HOSPITAL bosses have announced a £1.5m investment to improve emergency care services at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
Funds from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) will see the emergency department refurbished and extended.
A new 160 sq metre minor injuries unit will be built with five examination rooms, a waiting area, nurse base, clean utility and store.
Directors hope the addition will help doctors streamline the treatment of patients.
This year, more than 53,000 patients entered the emergency department, averaging over 1,000 cases per week.
Trust medical director Peter Dyer said: “The number of emergency cases we see is rising year on year and because of this, we have been planning this development for some time to ensure we continue to offer a high standard of emergency care in suitable surroundings.
“We expect up to 65 per cent of patients attending the emergency department will be streamed through the new minor injuries unit.”
Hospital consultant Ray McGlone said: “The new development will be of particular benefit to the 65 per cent of our patients who do not arrive by ambulance. It will also release capacity in our cubicles to attend to patients with major illnesses or injuries. It’s exciting to see it come to fruition having been closely involved in the planning of its design and implementation.”
Construction work will begin in February and will be completed in September.
The investment also includes partial refurbishment of the existing emergency department waiting area and improvements to resuscitation facilities.
Comments(3)
gadgetgadget
says...
12:43pm Thu 22 Dec 11
http://www.cumbriacr
ack.com/2011/12/22/p
atients-get-personal
-about-their-health-
services/
Especially the comments from Dr Peter Weaving :-
"The NHS is going through a period of sustained change and throughout this it is important that the needs of patients are at the forefront of everything the health service does."
Wonder if UHMBT realize that patient needs come first and not managerial "safe seats" ??
Diogenes The Cynic
says...
9:07pm Thu 22 Dec 11
Lancaster used to have four NHS hospitals that I can remember.. now just one?
I'm all for efficiency, but not at the cost of effectiveness
gadgetgadget says...
10:28am Thu 22 Dec 11
The REAL reason for the necessity of this is the queueing ambulance issue and that is caused by the Trust (and the wider NHS) obsession with "centres of excellence" in a rural environment.
Also the report glosses over what the trust were originally planning to do with RLI's A&E which was a £3.5m revamp - now a £1.5m extension is allegedly enough why ?
Is this money being spent in the right way ? and by continuing the "centres of excellence" model it doesn't actually solve the other issues at RLI which include beds unavailable on wards for admissions from A&E !!
I am concerned also that the letters in support of clinical staff in the WG seem to be overlooking the real issues with the local NHS - the issues aren't of clinical care (in general - sad events at FGH's maternity unit a clear difference) but of how the NHS management make decisions (then mask over the realities) and gag staff from voicing their concerns.
I've not read one comment on this site or a letter in the WG in the last few months that has generally criticised the medical care given by clinical staff BUT the comments have been targetted at management interference, lack of responsibility by management and neglect of their duties to listen to valid staff concerns.
I would ask that any member of NHS clinical staff reading this comment recognizes the support that the community gives them but we also recognize that you all need to have the correct management in place to get the ADDITIONAL support you need.