Kevin McGee cuts the ribbon to open the waiting room
BLACKPOOL Victoria Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) has opened the first phase of its Emergency Village development.
The upgraded, extended and enhanced waiting room and Minors area, which treats non-life threatening emergency illnesses and injuries, was opened by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Chief Executive, Kevin McGee and Medical Director, Dr Jim Gardner (video below) .
Kevin said: “This is the start of our new Emergency Village development and it ia fantastic.
“It is a high quality facility that is a real testament to everybody who has worked on the programme.
“The quality of the development is outstanding and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has played their part in designing it.
“It will be a fabulous facility for our staff and for all our patients.’’
The work was due to start in 2023 but began two and a half years ahead of schedule thanks to a successful bid for part of a share of £300M allocated across the country by the Government to upgrade facilities ahead of winter.
A fundamental element of the ED redesign has been to open up the waiting area which gives an opportunity to increase the social distancing capability almost five fold leading to a much better experience for patients and visitors.
Dr Gardener opened the new Minors area.
Medical Director, Dr Jim Gardner and ED Lead for the Emergency Village, Dr Adeline Israel, open the Minors area
He said: “I am very honoured to be opening these wonderful new facilities. I am so proud that even through the most awful Covid-19 pandemic, we have managed to continue the on-going modernisation of our facilities and our services. This is great testament to all involved.
“The opening today represents just one step along our journey of modernisation. I hope everyone appreciates the work that has gone in to making this happen and I look forward to future openings as our schemes develop.”
YOU CAN VIEW THE OPENING OF THE WAITING ROOM AND MINORS HERE:
Opening of the new waiting room and Minors area – YouTube
Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Emergency Village development aims to enhance the Emergency Department and Critical Care wards by upgrading facilities, adding capacity and significantly enhancing patient experience.
Emergency Department Lead for the Emergency Village, Dr Adeline Israel, said: “I am absolutely delighted to see our vision become reality today. This is the result of months of dedicated hard work by an excellent team.
Some of the ED nursing and pharmacy staff in the new Minors bays
“The waiting area as planned is now spacious, Covid compliant and well supervised ensuring patient safety. Furthermore, its splendid design bearing the colour of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has exposure to natural sunlight and provides a calm, welcoming and therapeutic environment in an otherwise stressful situation.
“The Minors has been meticulously designed and has the essential equipment to treat minor injuries and illness. The outstanding feature of this area is its flexibility. It has the capability to be an isolation zone for Covid patients with direct access to them without compromising the safety of other patients in the department.
“It is a proud moment for everyone involved in reaching this milestone of the Emergency Village. I look forward to achieving many more such milestones towards the completion of this life-saving project. My sincere thanks to each and every person who made this happen.”
The Trust is looking to receive close to £13M to develop an ‘Emergency Village’ as part of a national fund to upgrade NHS Services in England, subject to successful approval of the full business case.
(L to R) Directorate Manager of ED, Helen Raybould; ED Matron Tara Hassett, Chief Executive Kevin McGee, Head of Department (Emergency Medicine) Dr Antony Kearns and ED Lead for the Emergency Village, Dr Adeline Israel
Work on the wider development is scheduled to begin in in the coming months.
The construction partner for the scheme is Integrated Health Projects (IHP), a joint venture between VINCI Construction UK and Sir Robert McAlpine.
The 3D ‘fly through’ of the proposed new Emergency Department, can be viewed at https://youtu.be/RaoJeFwbkB8