On Friday James was at QEH to see progress on improvements being made as part of the £20.6m capital investment to enhance the facilities and experience for patients, their families, and staff.
New Emerson outpatient unit due to open in January 2022
The new Emerson Unit had been chosen as the name of the new Outpatient Unit at QEH. The name is in tribute to Chrissie Emerson, a healthcare assistant at the hospital who sadly dies of COVID-19 in 2020.
The new unit, which is on track to open in January 2022, follows £20.6m of capital investment to further enhance their facilities and experience for patients, their families and staff. It will bring together a number of outpatient services, including Urology, Pain Service, Rheumatology, Gynaecology, Antenatal Care, Obstetric Ultrasound and a Day Assessment Unit for pregnant women,
£12.5m state of art Endoscopy Unit to open in Spring 2022
The Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk's Planning Committee has granted planning permission for the development of a new £12.5m state-of-the-art Endoscopy Unit on the hospital site. The new unit will modernise facilities for patients, their families and staff will enable all endoscopies to take place in one unit.
Groundworks are already underway on this important development. This new unit will modernise facilities for patients and QEH staff and create decant space needed to enable QEH to make space for movement of wards and work to install failsafe roof supports where necessary to deal with the concrete plank issues. QEH expects the Endoscopy Unit to open next spring.
Funding announced for a new £3m West Norfolk Eye Centre
The QEH has received £3m via the national Targeted Investment Fund (TIF) to create new West Norfolk Eye Centre.
This funding will allow the development of a dedicated Ophthalmology outpatients facility to be created within the Emerson Unit, relocating the services from their current location in the main Outpatient department.
The increased capacity that will be created and effective design of the facility, combined with the more efficient ways of working- such as developing 'One Stop' clinics- will mean that more patients will be able to respond to the increased numbers of patients requiring ophthalmology services. Opening in Spring 2022, the facility will enable QEH to offer an additional 2,000 appointments and undertake 2,000 more intravitreal (IVT) injection procedures each year.
Commenting after his visit James said;
" I welcome the improvements the QEH is making with the £20.6 million emergency capital investment. The new facilities will offer a better experience for patients, their families and staff. I will continue to campaign for a new build hospital."
