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Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Beam signing ceremony marks A&E build milestone

A beam signing ceremony has marked the next stage of the development of a new urgent and emergency care facility at Arrowe Park Hospital.

Staff from Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) and Wirral Community Health and Care (WCHC) NHS Foundation Trust joined together for the event to sign the steel beam which will form part of the permanent structure of the new building.

The construction is well underway and the steel frame of the building is now in place, showing the scale of the new facility. This project, which will see an investment of more than £30 million, in a collaboration between the WUTH, WCHC and additional funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, will transform care in Wirral.

It will involve a complete redevelopment of the current Emergency Department at Arrowe Park Hospital, run by WUTH and the Urgent Treatment Centre, run by WCHC, creating a single front-door model that will offer an enhanced, seamless patient experience.

New ambulance bays were installed at the side of the building at the end of last year as part of the programme and roads have been reconfigured to accommodate the development.  

The signing of the beam is the latest milestone in construction. Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at WUTH and Mark Greatrex, Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at WCHC, attended the signing. They were joined by colleagues from both organisations, including Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre staff, the Estates Team overseeing the construction and volunteers from the Emergency Department who also signed the beam. Representatives from Tilbury Douglas, the company leading on construction, also attended the signing.

Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said: “It was fantastic to hold the event to mark this milestone in the project. We are really excited at how the development is progressing and now that the framework is up, people can start to see how the building is taking shape. The new urgent and emergency care facility will transform urgent and emergency care for the people of Wirral and will greatly improve patient experience.”

Mark Greatrex, Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Wirral Community Health and Care, said: “The new integrated urgent and emergency care building will really improve services for patients with state-of-the art facilities and additional dedicated areas for children’s A&E and mental health patient care. It’s great to see the vision for joint working between our trusts becoming a reality in this building.”

Once completed, the upgrade will include a dedicated ambulance entrance with enhanced privacy and dignity for patients, a larger ambulance area with greater capacity, and a single-entry point for patients ensuring that patients are provided with the right care in the right place at the right time.

Staff in the department will also benefit from improved working spaces in clinical areas, a dedicated staff entrance leading directly to the new welfare areas, refurbished training facilities, and open layouts to encourage collaborative teamwork.

 

Photo 1 – Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH); Mark Greatrex, Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Wirral Community Health and Care (WCHC), joined by teams from WUTH and WCHC for the beam signing ceremony.

 

Photo 2 – Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital (front); Dr Andrea Wootten, Emergency Department Consultant at WUTH (back left) and Hayley Kendall, Chief Operating Officer at WUTH (back right), signing the beam at the event at Arrowe Park Hospital.

 

Photo 3 - Mark Greatrex, Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Wirral Community Health and Care, signing the beam at the event at Arrowe Park Hospital.