Excited teams are getting ready to move Walsall Manor Hospital’s Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) into its new state-of-the-art Urgent and Emergency Care Centre tomorrow.
The PAU is the third piece of the jigsaw within the new c£40m centre – the Emergency Department moved overnight on 1 March into 2 March and the Acute Medical Unit moved on 9 March.
Suzanne Priest, Care Group Manager for Paediatrics and Neonates, said plans were in place to welcome its first patients from around 7.30am.
“We are all really excited to be moving into such a fantastic new facility and have been watching the ED and AMU moves with interest,” she said.
“Those moves went well thanks to all the preparation and hard work of all the staff involved and we are hoping for a similar smooth move ourselves tomorrow. Our new home is going to be such a wonderful environment for our young patients and their families and will be a much better provision this winter.”
Matron Victoria Harrison added that teams were all looking forward to settling into the new centre.
“The PAU is a vital part of Paediatric medicine as it assesses poorly children to try to avoid hospital admission if possible and we have been managing in a fairly cramped space so this new unit is a massive improvement. We are also pleased that there is a quiet room where we can support our children and young people in distress.”
The two-storey development, delivered by Tilbury Douglas, will significantly improve emergency care facilities and capacity at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and has provided almost 5,000 square metres of additional clinical space.
The facility includes an Urgent Treatment Centre, Emergency Department including Resus and Rapid Assessment and Treatment area, and Children’s ED, co-located Paediatric Assessment Unit, Acute Medical Unit and provision for Frailty and Community Integrated Assessment services.
It also includes re-configuration of the current Emergency Department footprint, to incorporate improved Ambulatory Emergency Care and Imaging services.
Various specialist facilities are located throughout, such as an isolation room for infectious patients, bariatric provision and digital X-ray rooms. All areas have been designed specifically to enhance clinical staff efficiency, improve quality of care, improve patient experience, and improve the working environment for staff.