Robin Walker, MP for Worcester has welcomed the announcement that the Government has
approved approximately £4 million of extra funding for an expansion to the Emergency
Department at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the provision of an additional
discharge suite. This comes on the back of a further announcement of help for the
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust from the Emergency Care Improvement Programme.
Worcester’s hospital has seen a sustained rise in demand and Robin has met with the Acute
Trust, GPs, A&E doctors and nurses to understand what they need to meet it. It has been
clear from those meetings that the problem was not only in the increased demand for A&E
but also in getting patients discharged from the hospital effectively and that capacity was
needed at both ends of the system. Robin heard plans from the Trust for this expansion
before the Summer and took them to Ministers and Advisers at the Department of Health. He
has been pressing on a regular basis for confirmation that the work could go ahead and this
week received that confirmation. The Trust was notified that the Department and the Trust
Development Authority had approved the funding on Monday 7th September and approved
the plans at its board meeting this Wednesday.
It has been clear for some time that the hospital, built to serve a footfall of around 45,000
has been dealing with more like 66,500 and was struggling to meet the demand of a much
larger population within its catchment area as well as the issues faced across the UK with an
ageing population and more people living with long term conditions. Robin highlighted during
the election campaign his determination to see a major upgrade to Worcester’s A&E. He
received assurances from Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State that any plans would be
looked at with seriousness and urgency. Robin continues to support a larger plan to deliver a
£25 million upgrade to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital with more parking and a
reconfigured A&E Department but this will take some years to deliver and needs the
completion of a consultation on reconfiguring the wider Acute Trust.
Recognising that the pressures are already there and an interim solution was needed, he
met with clinical leaders straight after the election to discover what could be done in the
meantime. Today’s announcement will provide a much needed interim solution and should
mean that extra capacity will be in place for much of next winter.
Robin’s briefing from the Department of Health said
“Because of growth in attendances and consequent pressure on the WRH ED, the decision
was made to develop an interim solution to expand existing ED and ensure resilience
through the use of modular units. The scheme will provide 4 HDU beds, additional treatment
and consultation rooms and additional waiting areas.
The Trust plans to start the capital works asap to ensure the additional capacity is available
in time to cope with additional demand expected during the winter months. TDA Midlands
and East Team supported the proposal.”
Commenting on the announcement, Robin said
“Upgrading Worcester’s hospital was the number one point in my twelve point plan for
Worcester at the election. I am very pleased to see this vital funding come through. It is clear
that our hospital was built too small for the long term growth in demand it would face and the
additional investment being put into the NHS must be used to meet this demand. This first
step will bring a welcome increased to capacity both for emergency admissions and, just as
importantly for safe discharges. I continue to press for a bigger upgrade to the
Worcestershire Royal and remain convinced that this is necessary for the long run, but
today’s announcement is certainly a step in the right direction.”
“I now hope that all parties involved will work together to get the work done as quickly as
possible. The sooner this much needed capacity is in place the better. I know that hospital
staff have been working incredibly hard over the last few years to meet the needs of patients
and any investment in the hospital is a vote of confidence in them. I also welcome the
support for clinical leadership through the ECIP. The high demand for services in recent
weeks is a reminder of why it has been so vital to keep up investment in our NHS and I am
proud to be part of a Government which is doing so.”
Notes to editors
For more detail on today’s announcement and the Acute Trust’s account of recent pressures
see:
http://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/news/operational-pressures-at-ae/
For Jeremy Hunt’s assurance that an upgrade would be considered see:
https://www.walker4worcester.com/walker-leads-push-to-upgrade-worcesters-ae/
For Robin’s earlier campaigning on this issue and recent visits to the hospital see:
https://www.walker4worcester.com/local-nhs-is-getting-better-under-the-conservatives/
https://www.walker4worcester.com/praise-for-worcesters-new-midwife-led-birth-centre/
https://www.walker4worcester.com/articles/view_detail.php?id=3cf3443cadc7e8f07d6b5423ff
6b9531
On Monday it was announced that the Acute Trust would receive help from the ECIP and
local MPs were told:
As Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been challenged in meeting its
emergency care 4 hour waiting time standard, the local system will receive tailored support
via ECIP to address this. ECIP will be clinically led and will offer practical support to improve
patient flow through the urgent and emergency care system and will ensure patients quickly
and safely return to their permanent place of residence, with any necessary support they
require.
ECIP will help local systems deliver rapid and sustained improvements in service quality,
safety and patient flow via four main strands of activity;
Enhanced practical support from the Department of Health’s Emergency Care
Intensive Support Team (ECIST) for local systems- this will include additional
expertise from both the health and social care sectors
Creating a collaborative learning network – this will link strong performers across the
urgent and emergency care system with other challenged systems, so that innovative
practice and insight can be shared
A closer buddying system –providing access to highly tailored advice, support and
expertise from strong performers to facilitate any necessary change that is required
Additional programme management support – to help local systems implement
improvements
The ECIP programme is being facilitated by Monitor, NHS Trust Development Authority,
NHS England and the Department of Health. This partnership will ensure that
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is supported by coherent efforts across the local
system and can focus on securing the necessary improvements in service quality, safety and
patient flow. To ensure you are engaged with ECIP and its progress, the ECIP team will
provide you with updates throughout the course of the programme.
