Massive changes ahead in hospital revamp

Posted by The Journal on Feb 12, 09 10:56 AM in News

The emergency department at Wansbeck General Hospital will be closed as part of a ÃÂ£200m upgrade of hospital services in Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Health bosses are spending ÃÂ£200m on a massive revamp of hospital care that will see a ÃÂ£75m Specialist Emergency Care Hospital built near Cramlington. A further ÃÂ£125m will be spent upgrading North Tyneside and Wansbeck general hospitals in the 10-year plan, while community hospitals in Berwick, Haltwhistle and Morpeth will also be improved.

Wansbeck General Hospital

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said under the proposals, seriously ill patients would be taken straight to the new hospital to be seen by experts who specialise in their condition.

But general hospitals at Wansbeck and Hexham will no longer have an emergency department. Once a patient's condition improves, they will be transferred to their local hospital for further treatment and recovery.

Jim Mackey, chief executive for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Overall we think it is a really good thing for the region, a good thing for our patients and for the broader economy.

"We provide excellent services now and this is really our attempt at just stepping up again. What we're trying to do is look at national and international best practice, see how we can do it, and this is our attempt at delivering that.

"We believe the outcomes for patients will be better and the standards of care will be virtually unrivalled. It is a really ambitious plan, but we fell it will benefit the region hugely."

The new hospital will be funded by a ÃÂ£60m Government loan, paid back over 25 years, with the rest to be taken from money set aside by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Bosses want the specialist centre up and running by 2012 and expect it to create dozens of new jobs.

The service will have a major Accident and Emergency department, seven wards, intensive care and operating theatres. Consultant-led maternity services will also be provided from there, as will the special care baby unit.

There will also be 210 in-patient beds, a critical care unit, 18 beds for seriously-unwell patients, blood sciences, radiology including MRI and CT scanners, maternity and a full range of support and ancillary facilities.

Chris Biggin, emergency medical consultant, said: "I've been working in emergency medicine for the past 11 years and this new hospital is 100% about what I'm doing.

"As a consultant, I want to be able to take the best practice available worldwide and offer this to patients in the area. To do this, I see a specialist emergency hospital as the only logical next step. It will allow us to take emergency medicine to the next level."

Hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham will continue to be where most care is provided.

Doctors will still be based at these hospitals which will provide beds for patients transferred from the new hospital and those needing pre-planned operations; walk-in services; outpatient treatment and a full range of tests, scans and procedures.

The money provided will be spent improving and refurbishing the local general hospitals as well as including new buildings for healthcare services at community hospitals in Berwick, Haltwhistle and Morpeth.

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