WATCH: A look inside QA Hospital's new Accident & Emergency Department as opening date revealed
The opening date for a new Accident and Emergency department at a Hampshire hospital has been revealed with The News taking an exclusive look around the new facilities.
Work on the highly anticipated new A&E department at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham has taken under two years to complete. The new site was built from the ground up and will replace the existing A&E department once opened.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have now confirmed that the new department will open its doors to the public on Tuesday, November 26 from 8am. Anyone in need of emergency treatment from that time should head to the new department situated behind (south) of the existing A&E entrance.
Kate Hardy, clinical director of the emergency department, is pleased to finally see it opening. She said: “It is phenomenal to see it come together. It is really amazing to see because we have some patients come in and they have noticed the difference and been very impressed.
“To see how the emergency department staff have worked really hard to get us to opening day, it’s going to be fantastic for them and our patients.”
She added: “Nationally the best practice is to have a separate front door and ambulance entrance for children. From now on that is how we will manage them. Children will have their own drop off point and their own ambulance entrance and will be managed in their own area completely separated from the adult side.”
The children’s department also features a teenage area to cater for older children, as well having changing and baby feeding areas to try and make it as convenient as possible for parents in what can be a stressful and difficult time.
The building, which was supported by £58 million of national funding, boasts a range of improved facilities including double the current resus capacity from four adult bays to eight.
There is also two further paediatric resus bays for children, a new CT scanner for patients requiring a specialist scan, and faster access to radiology teams for scans and tests. It will not only be beneficial to patients but also to staff with dedicated area for them to rest.
Peter Russell, clinical director of the emergency department, said it has been a bumpy road to get to where they are now but he is proud of the outcome. He said: “From a blank piece of paper we are now standing in a fantastic new emergency department with huge benefits for our patients and staff.
“There definitely some nervousness in opening but also just really excited. The benefits of the building, as well as the work to improve the patient journey and staff experience, is going to make a big difference.”
For Peter, one of the huge benefits of the new building will be the 32 new cubicles in the majors ward. This will improve infection control, patient dignity, as well as give people the chance to have a private conversation in contrast to the curtained bays in the existing department. The majors ward also has the function of being separated into two, allowing for improved infection control if a pandemic was ever to arise again.
While the new department is fantastic news and worthy of celebrating, staff are keen to emphasise it is still an emergency department and people should only visit in the case of an emergency.
Peter said: “The current emergency department is very old and not fit for the work that we undertake. This has absolutely been made for patients that are in need of emergency treatment. It is not necessarily providing a new service, just an enhanced one for those who are particularly unwell and in medical, surgical and traumatic emergencies.
“All of the pathways are still available for patients in the region to go to urgent treatment centres, minor injury units and their own primary care service. Those services will not be added here. It’s just enhancing the service we have here at the moment.”
Watch the video embedded in this article for a look around the new A&E department.