Worcestershire Royal Hospital is receiving an £8 million upgrade thanks to government funding. Work is already underway on a temporary clinical admissions unit at which hospital bosses say will free up emergency department space, reduce ambulance handover time and ease pressure on staff.
The 30-place short stay unit will give patients a better experience of care when being transferred to wards from the hospital's Emergency Department.
The new temporary unit will be in an unoccupied area on the first floor of Worcestershire Oncology Centre and the aim is for the unit to be built and ready to receive patients before the end of February.
The investment is additional to the £15 million announced last year for the hospital's Emergency Department. Work is now well underway to and patients needing emergency care will be able to avail of this by the end of the year.
Since being elected, Robin has long championed for investment in the hospital including stroke services and head and neck cancer treatments and surgeries to be kept within the county, a new breast cancer unit, a midwife-led birth centre, a state of the art oncology unity and expansion to the A&E department, opened the link bridge as well as a new ward, which has delivered 94 new beds for the city hospital.
Worcester MP Robin Walker said:
"Staff at Worcestershire Royal worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and everyone in Worcester is grateful for their efforts, knowing that if they found themselves needing hospital services they would be in the best possible hands.
"I have been campaigning to improve facilities and services at Worcestershire Royal since before I was elected to Parliament in 2010. I have personally welcome two Secretaries of State for Health to the hospital so they could see for themselves the need
Minister of State for Health Ed Argar said:
“It’s great news that construction of the additional bed unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is underway, with the support of national funding, to help ease local A&E pressures, and improve access.
“I know how active you have been in pushing for investment in your local hospital so I know you will welcome this investment.”