Bournemouth hospital launches £1.5m fundraiser for new building

The new emergency department would be larger than the existing ones at Poole and Royal Bournemouth hospitals put together

A hospital has launched a fundraiser to help pay for facilities in its new six-storey building.

Royal Bournemouth Hospital wants to raise £1.5m to fund equipment for its Birth, Emergency, Critical Care and Children's Health (BEACH) building.

The money would buy a CT scanner, sleep pods for junior doctors and play areas, as well as other facilities for patients and staff.

The BEACH building is expected open in spring 2025.

It will include a maternity unit, a children's unit, an enhanced emergency department and a 30-bed critical care unit.

In addition, laboratory services will be provided for the whole of Dorset with a new pathology hub.

The development is part of a £250m scheme to reshape healthcare in Bournemouth and Poole.

It is hoped the building's new CT scanner would allow double the number of patients to be scanned, diagnosed and treated within critical timeframes

The BEACH appeal is University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity's biggest ever fundraiser.

Money raised will also be put towards constructing wellbeing gardens, offering a tranquil outdoor space for patients, visitors and staff caring for those that are critically unwell, the charity said.

The emergency department would also benefit from four specially designed rooms for people with additional mental health needs.

UHD's chief executive officer Siobhan Harrington said the money would help future-proof the new building."By supporting the BEACH Appeal, the public will be helping to make long-lasting differences to the experience of every patient, staff member and hospital visitor who comes through those doors," she added.

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