£6.3m funding for Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to improve patient care ahead of winter
Funding of £6.3 million to help improve patient care at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital ahead of winter has been welcomed.
The funding will be used to create a new Same Day Emergency Care centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) which will help ease pressure on its A&E, and reduce hospital admissions.
The new centre will be housed in a two-storey medical modular building and located outside the A&E Department and is expected to be operational in the New Year.
The funding will also enable the expansion of the current A&E to provide additional patient cubicles.
The funding forms part of an additional £150 million to expand and upgrade 25 A&E facilities in hospitals across England, ensuring they have improved physical space to treat patients, manage patient flow and improve infection control.
This is in addition to the £300 million announced recently for 117 Trusts to upgrade their facilities. This includes £2m for Princess Royal Hospital in Telford announced last month.
Nigel Lee, Chief Operating Officer at SaTH, said: “This additional investment is very much welcomed and enables us to relocate our current SDEC to a purpose-built facility.
“Winter is always a challenging time as the demands on our services are high, and this year we are also in a pandemic which brings with it other challenges.
“This new facility will help to reduce pressure on our A&E and on our beds, and improve care for our patients. Patients seen in the SDEC will be treated and sent home the same day – avoiding the need for a hospital admission.
“Our current A&E is small, and so this funding will also enable us to expand the floor space by relocating our Fracture Clinic, and provide additional cubicles and waiting space for patients requiring treatment.”
Speaking about the funding South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne said: “I am very pleased SaTH will receive an additional £6.3m to help prepare the A&E at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for the winter ahead. This is part of £450m to upgrade A&E’s across England.
"I also welcome the NHS putting £24 million into pilots to increase 111 call handling capacity, with more clinicians on hand to provide expert advice and guidance. NHS 111 has handled millions of calls during the pandemic, and this investment will ensure the call handlers can book appointments for patients with the appropriate service to cut out unnecessary queueing and ensure they get the right care first time.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are investing £450 million to make sure our A&E departments are ready for winter. Hospitals around the country will be able to expand and upgrade to ensure they can continue safely treating patients in the coming months."
