Bournemouth hospital defends £1.5m fundraiser for new building

The six-storey BEACH building in Bournemouth is expected to open in 2025

A hospital has defended a public appeal for cash to fund equipment for its new premises.

Royal Bournemouth Hospital launched the £1.5m fundraiser for its Birth, Emergency, Critical Care and Children's Health (BEACH) building on 22 April.

The appeal for money to buy items like a second CT scanner received backlash from the public, who questioned why it was not being funded by the NHS.

But government money would only cover one CT scanner, the hospital said.

CT scanners are used to monitor cancer treatments and check people's bones or internal organs after an accident

Costing more than £200m, plans for the BEACH building include a maternity unit, a children's unit, an enhanced emergency department and a 30-bed critical care unit.

Alongside a CT scanner, the money from the charity appeal would pay for sleep pods for junior doctors, play areas, wellbeing gardens and rooms in emergency departments for people with additional mental health needs.

But some people took to social media questioning why the public was being asked to foot the bill on top of paying taxes and National Insurance.

Defending the move, University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust said a second CT scanner would enable radiographers to scan up to 15,000 more patients each year, and could act as a back-up when the primary scanner was undergoing maintenance.

The new site will also have a pathology hub which will be able to provide laboratory services to the whole county

A spokeswoman said hospital clinicians had also designed the new emergency department to include a radiology hub in the centre.

"This will shorten waiting times as patients can have their initial scan on their arrival... instead of being transferred by a porter to the radiology department," she added.

Expected to open in spring 2025, the building has been described by Dorset's NHS bosses as a "cornerstone" of a wider £500m investment in the county's hospital sites.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This building will improve birth, emergency and critical care services, and children's health services, making a significant difference in helping cut waiting times for patients in Dorset by serving nearly 145,000 patients a year.

"We continue to work closely with the NHS to improve services and this new building is part of over 70 hospital upgrades we're delivering across the country, on top of 40 new hospitals."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.