'Game changing': Inside the new A&E wards at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital set to improve care for patients
'Game changing' new A&E wards being opened later this month at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital are the first step in the major revamp of the county's emergency hospitals.
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The finishing touches are currently being carried out to two new units which make up part of Royal Shrewsbury Hospital's emergency department.
The work is part of a huge £312m reorganisation of Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH), as part of the 'Hospitals Transformation Process' (HTP), also known as 'Future Fit'.
Senior staff at the hospital have offered a sneak preview of the new areas - a dedicated resus area, and new 'majors' area.
The units are both key parts of the way A&E operates.
The resus unit is where the most sick patients are taken for treatment on arrival at the hospital.
The new area has eight dedicated spacious rooms, along with a large nurses station.
It will take over from an existing area which has four resus bays - which are considerably smaller.
Dr Ed Rysdale, a consultant in Emergency Medicine at SaTH, and Jenni Rowlands, Acting Deputy Medical Director at the trust, have both spoken of the excitement at the new facilities - and the difference they will make for patients and staff.
Resus bays can have up to 12 members of staff in at one time, working to help patients.
The new bays provide far greater space for the teams, as well as special sliding doors which can be opened entirely or closed.
Dr Rysdale said it was an "exciting time" for the trust, as the 'first stage of HTP'.
He said: "It is absolutely game-changing to how we can deliver care in our resus area.
"The area we use currently is very small, it was built when the hospital was built, and it was four beds."
He added: "These are a lot more spacious, they have all the right kit in the right places, it is an entirely different resus area, it is so much better."
Dr Rowlands said the environment offered by the area would be "so much better for patients".
The second area is the 'majors' ward - with 13 new bays set to be opened at the end of the month, with that later being expanded to 22.
The area is for patients brought in on trolleys, or who need to be on trolleys. They receive assessment and treatment before being moved onto the appropriate ward in the hospital - for example those with chest pains or suspected hip fractures.
Dr Rysdale said the capacity and the new larger areas would again be better for patients and staff.
He said: "The clinical space is much larger, it is just a much more pleasant environment to work in."
"And from a patient point of view it is more space, less crowded and gives a calmer environment for an emergency department to operate in.
Dr Rowlands added: "It is a massive upgrade on what we have and the team are really excited about it."
The hospital takes over the areas from the contractors from March 17, before test run scenarios take place ahead of the units become operational towards the end of the month.
Dr Rowlands said there was real excitement ahead of the opening.
She said: "We were just standing outside talking and every member of staff was saying 'can we come and have a look', there is a real buzz, it has engendered lots of interest. It is excitement going into the next stage, everyone realises how it is going to impact on the care for their patients."
