New £28 million urgent care and A&E facility to be built at Arrowe Park Hospital
Plans have been unveiled for a new £28 million urgent and emergency care facility to be built at Arrowe Park Hospital.
The scheme will transform urgent care in Wirral and will include a complete redevelopment of the current A&E at Arrowe Park Hospital, run by Wirral University Teaching Hospital and the Urgent Treatment Centre, which is currently based next door on the same site, run by Wirral Community Health and Care Trust (WCHC).
Work will commence in the middle of next year with the new urgent care and A&E facility opening in March 2024. This is the biggest investment at Arrowe Park Hospital since it was built and next year marks the 40th anniversary of the hospital opening. To support this construction the Trust has appointed Tilbury Douglas as the primary construction and engineering contractor as well as Day Architectural Ltd to provide design expertise.
An Urgent and Emergency Care Upgrade Programme was set up in partnership with WUTH, WCHC, NHS Wirral Clinical and Commissioning Group and organisations in the local health system, to outline how the provision and delivery of urgent and emergency care services at Arrowe Park Hospital could be transformed to better serve the local community.
The proposal will see a highly responsive new urgent care and Emergency Department developed with a single-entry point; reconfiguration of the Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre into one space, provide better use of space to allow social distancing and improve access for ambulances. The centre will have the very best clinical expertise and facilities to provide the safest and most clinically effective care for urgent and emergency patients.
It will also align with the NHS Long Term plan to provide a 24 hour collaborative urgent care service; allow rapid assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients so people with certain conditions can return home on the same day and help reduce length of stay for patients.
The commitment is part of WUTH’s strategy over the next five years to provide outstanding care across Wirral.
Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said: “This will be a fantastic facility for staff and patients and the work will completely transform Wirral’s only Emergency Department and also the provision of urgent care for local people.
“This is the biggest investment at Arrowe Park Hospital since it was built almost 40 years ago and shows our commitment to enhancing the care we provide to those who are in most urgent need.
“It is another example of strong partnerships, working with health and care organisations across Wirral which are continuing to work together for the benefit of people in the community.”
Dr Nikki Stevenson, Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive added: “Our aim to continuously provide the best care we can for our patients and this new facility will help us to do that. We are very excited about the development, which will create a much simpler process and a better patient journey for those who visit our Emergency Department or urgent care facilities.”
Karen Howell, Chief Executive at Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Access to urgent care for those in most need should be as easy and accessible as possible. The new facility will enable this to happen and ensure people get the right care at the right time and in the right place. We are proud to be part of this exciting development in Wirral, bringing together urgent care services around the needs of our shared communities.”
Dr Paula Cowan, Chair of NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We welcome this important improvement to our local urgent care system and the investment that is being spent in Wirral. As a commissioner of health services in Wirral, we feel that this will provide a much improved urgent and emergency care service for Wirral residents.”
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Notes to editor:
- In August 2019, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that NHS organisations, clinical commissioning groups and health and care partnerships across the country would receive capital funding to improve buildings and estates, redesign services and care pathways, and improve patient care across the country. The scheme at Arrowe Park Hospital was a number across the country to receive the funding. The capital spend for the project will also be augmented by local NHS funds.