Building works start on hospital A&E expansion

Building works start on The Royal Oldham's A&E Expansion

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Construction work has now started to expand and improve the Accident and Emergency facilities at The Royal Oldham Hospital.

The £4.4M capital spend by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, will see the expansion of the existing emergency department and the development of separate, dedicated A&E facilities for children and young people.

The construction works entail the complete remodelling of the existing A&E Department and will provide six adult resus bays and one paediatric resus bay.

The expansion will include the development of ten treatment cubicles, one psychiatric liaison room, one individual treatment room and a shared plaster room with Paediatrics.

In the dedicated Paediatric A&E department, there will be five cubicles and one high care room. Five consult/examination rooms will be shared by adult minor treatment staff and those in Paediatrics. An additional x-ray room will also be formed with a separate paediatric waiting area.

The A&E department at The Royal Oldham Hospital currently sees an average of 280 patients per day; approximately 94,000 patients a year. Of these, around 70 children aged under 16 are seen every day. The A&E team comprises 11 consultants in emergency medicine and 85 nursing staff.

It is hoped that the increased space and capacity will help to improve the waiting times and overall patient experience for patients requiring emergency or critical care in Oldham and surrounding areas. The development and expansion is due to complete by Summer next year.

Dr Nick Gili, A&E Consultant and Clinical Director at The Royal Oldham Hospital, said: “The expansion and improvements planned for the hospital are an exciting development for the Trust. The extra space will help us to provide patients with modern, spacious facilities, create more capacity and improve waiting times. This should go some way in helping us to meet the increased demands on our emergency services from critically ill patients.

“The new facilities will particularly benefit children and young people, who will have new, dedicated facilities. It will also help us to plan and deliver improved urgent care services in partnership with local GPs, commissioners and other providers.”

Graham Lord, Head of Estate Development, said: "This is another exciting and significant estate development for The Royal Oldham Hospital which has involved careful planning with our architects, our clinical staff and patient representatives.

"It remains ‘business as usual’ for the existing A&E department and other services that are delivered from the hospital. Our priority is to ensure the construction site and building works is restricted, people are safe and disruption is kept to a minimum. ”

Commenting on the project, John Fowler, Project Manager, Vinci Construction UK, Building Division – North, said: “Over the years, we have developed an exceptional relationship with the Trust. The great communication between us all has ensured patients will still receive the best care and we can complete the department on time and to the highest standard. This is the fourth project undertaken for the Trust and will be completed in April 2014.”