Alongside the Trust’s continued estates investments and current fire improvement works, a reconfiguration project has started at Pilgrim hospital during 2018/19 to enable ULHT to improve the experiences of its patients and urgent care flow through A&E.
With increasing local demand on A&E services and to help safeguard our elective activity on the site, a major change to the tower block and inpatient areas has started this summer.
A number of changes have already taken place this year, including the newly refurbished 9a ward welcoming home the stroke team after last year’s fire and Pilgrim’s new £2.5 million maternity (antenatal and postnatal) unit opening in February.
The building works will now turn the spotlight back on the tower block and, in tandem with the current fire improvements, will see a number of updates taking place. Not least with the creation of a new acute medical short stay area (1) on the third floor and surgical short stay area (2) up on the fifth. (find out more below).
Although certain areas of the tower block will remain unchanged – first, second, fourth, sixth and seventh staying as they are, other areas will undergo significant change and improvements, resulting in some ward decants and relocations as required.
The initial stage kicks off with the creation of a new assessment centre (3) which will house the current ambulatory emergency care (AEC) facilities to improve the flow of urgent care patients from A&E back home or to a ward. This will take place from July to October 2018.
Subsequently, floor five will become a surgical short stay area during August, with changes to the top floors falling into place by the end of October, namely stroke moving down to the newly refurbished 8b and orthopaedic trauma relocating up to 9a.
The entire project will allow for a greater patient focus, with improved patient flow, elective activity and more development opportunities for current staff.
Key improvements include:
- Acute medical short stay – 52 bed ward dedicated to medical patients for a maximum stay of 72 hours, based on 3rd floor.
- Surgical short stay – 54 bed ward for vascular, urology and general surgery, based on the 5th floor.
- Assessment centre – 24 trolley and chair based for both medical and surgical patients with a maximum stay of eight hours.