Basingstoke MP Maria Miller visited Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital recently for one of her regular catch up meetings with Chief Executive Alex Whitfield and Liz Padmore, Chair of the Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
During the visit, Maria had the opportunity to see the improvement works which are currently underway to increase capacity in the Accident and Emergency Department over the forthcoming winter. The works have been made possible due to £4 million of extra funding for the Hospital Trust which was announced in September.
Maria was shown the building works which re-configure the internal space within the Emergency Department, and include improvements to the surgical assessment unit and a separate paediatric assessment unit, all of which will help with the flow of patients through the winter. She was also able to speak with some Emergency Department staff and patients.
Maria also called in on the Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU) led by Dr Tanuj Lad. The ACU was set up to divert patients from trolleys or beds in A&E or the Acute Assessment Unit, to a separate unit where they have same day consultant-delivered medical assessments, investigations and treatment, and are then discharged, preventing the need for hospital admission.
Maria said: “I am very pleased that Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital has received extra Government funding to help to increase capacity at A&E, and it is great news that the work is on track to deliver these improvements by Christmas.”
“I was glad to have the opportunity to speak to some of the highly skilled and hardworking staff in the Emergency Department, and to thank them for all they do to deliver the best possible care for patients.”
“I was also delighted to visit the ACU and see Dr Lad and his team, particularly as I had nominated them for an NHS 70 Award earlier this year. The ACU has been hugely successful, seeing around 230 patients a month and now benefits from a purpose built extension.”
