Trust awarded £6.3million to prepare for winter

The Trust which runs Shropshire’s two acute hospitals has been awarded a further £6.3 million by the Government to help prepare for winter.

The funding will be used to create a new Same Day Emergency Care centre (SDEC) at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) which will help ease pressure on its A&E, and reduce hospital admissions.

It will also enable the expansion of the current A&E to provide additional patient cubicles.

The announcement comes after The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the RSH and Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, was awarded £2 million by the Government in August, with the funding being used to convert the former Wrekin Midwife Led Unit at PRH into a Priorities Admissions Unit.

The new SDEC, which will be housed in a two-storey medical modular building, will be located outside the A&E Department and is expected to be operational in the New Year.

Nigel Lee, Chief Operating Officer at SaTH, said: “This additional investment is very much welcomed and enables us to relocate our current SDEC to a purpose-built facility.

“Winter is always a challenging time as the demands on our services are high, and this year we are also in a pandemic which brings with it other challenges. 

“This new facility will help to reduce pressure on our A&E and on our beds, and improve care for our patients. Patients seen in the SDEC will be treated and sent home the same day – avoiding the need for a hospital admission.

“Our current A&E is small, and so this funding will also enable us to expand the floor space by relocating our Fracture Clinic, and provide additional cubicles and waiting space for patients requiring treatment.” 

The RSH was one of 25 hospitals to receive a share of £150 million in funding announced by the Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday to expand and upgrade A&Es.

Mr Hancock said: “We are investing £450 million to make sure our A&E departments are ready for winter. Hospitals around the country will be able to expand and upgrade to ensure they can continue safely treating patients in the coming months.”