Work on Gloucestershire Royal Hospital new building moves a step closer
Summary
Preparatory work has begun on a new Department of Critical Care (DCC) at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has applied to Gloucester City Council for planning permission for a new five-storey facility to care for some of the county’s sickest patients.
Details
Although planning consent hasn’t yet been granted, preparatory work for the proposed facility has begun between the Gloucester hospital’s Tower Block and Gallery Wing. If it gets the go-ahead, the new DCC will provide specialist care for patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, including severe infections, major trauma and those recovering from complex surgery.
The Design and Access Statement to support the planning application said the current DCC has 19 beds and “no longer has the capacity to meet existing clinical demand or support projected growth”. It continued: “Demand modelling indicates that the service will require capacity to accommodate 3% per annum predicted growth in demand, which is unachievable with the hospital’s current accommodation.
“The existing Department of Critical Care accommodation within the Tower Block building has reached the end of life and requires urgent modernisation. “A new modular building means that the urgent improvements to the Tower Block building can be completed without the DCC being closed down during the works, as patients and staff will decant to the new building.
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No other suitable building is currently available to the trust.” Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the proposed development comes at a time of increasing demand for critical care services across the NHS.
It added that an ageing population, rising numbers of people living with complex long-term conditions and seasonal pressures from winter illnesses are all contributing to growing demand on healthcare services across the country. The proposed unit will initially have 24 critical care beds, with space to expand to 36 beds in the future as demand grows.
The trust said it was designed with patients, families and staff in mind, and will provide a safer, more efficient environment with modern equipment and technology.
Kevin McNamara, chief executive , said: “The new Department of Critical Care will provide a state-of-the-art unit for some of our most vulnerable patients and help ensure we can meet the needs of both today’s population and future generations.” The new DCC is expected to care for more than 1,500 patients a year and will be run by a multi-disciplinary team of specialist doctors, nurses, therapists, technicians and support staff.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester