New £30m emergency unit opens at hospital

The project features new patient treatment facilities and ease of access between services

A major expansion to Great Western Hospital's Emergency Department has been unveiled to the public.

The project, which totalled £33.5m, is the biggest ever investment to the Swindon hospital.

Besides an increase in adult treatment facilities, the expansion means a new Children's Emergency Unit has also been established.

Great Western Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust said it hopes the investment can help reduce waiting times and improve patient experience.

New resuscitation bays, including one for children have been installed

The emergency department will directly link with the hospital's £15m Urgent Treatment Centre that was unveiled two years ago, for patients with acute but not life-threatening symptoms.

The department has had seven more major cubicles added, bringing the number to 22 and three new resuscitation cubicles, for patients in critical or life-threatening conditions, have also been built.

A secluded room for patients dealing with mental health crises, a more comfortable observation area and two rooms for relatives are also part of the upgrade.

Julian Auckland-Lewis is the director of the trust's Way Forward programme, responsible for managing projects, including this expansion.

He said: "Between the point at which the hospital was built (it opened in 2002) and 2030, Swindon will have grown by about 40% in terms of its population. By definition, we have to keep up."

Dr Liz Barneby led the team of consultants who advised the project from a clinical perspective

Consultant Dr Liz Barneby, who is clinical lead for the project, said: "One challenge we have quite a lot of time in ED (Emergency Department) is that we're very crowded, we're all on top of each other.

"Our processes can therefore be slow and inefficient and it's not a very comfortable space for the patients to wait.

"So having more space, having that proximity to services where we can move patients between services allows us to get patients in the right place and their wait is shorter and crowding is reduced."

The new development has also been guided by input from service users.

Louise Hunt Skelley, former women's number 10 ranked wheelchair tennis player and Paralympian, said: "I was really honoured when I was contacted to play my small part in what's been created here.

"Using my lived experience as a wheelchair user, I was just engaged in conversations about how to make sure that all the spaces are inclusive, accessible and easy to navigate.

"Lots of different people from different backgrounds, different lived experiences have been involved within the conversations of how to make sure everybody feels catered for.

"I know lots of other groups people have been involved, which is exciting and very refreshing."