Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed news that the Great Western Hospital is set to receive an additional £5 million in order to support A&E capacity ahead of the winter months.
The £5 million will be used to expand and upgrade A&E facilities at the hospital, which will ensure that enough space is available to treat patients, manage patient flow and improve infection control.
The funding will be used to: create a new single initial assessment area; increase waiting capacity, urgent treatment centre and same day emergency care consulting rooms of 50%; create a new area with elevated infection control measures to act as a ‘Blue Zone’ where patients identified as potentially infective will be managed; and increases in same day emergency care.
This funding comes as part of the government’s £150 million of funding to be shared across 25 A&Es, with the money being used to expand waiting areas and increase the number of treatment cubicles. It is on top of the £300 million provided by the Government to upgrade A&Es announced last month (August) – taking the total investment in A&Es this winter to £450 million.
In June, the Prime Minister announced plans to accelerate £5 billion of infrastructure spending as part of his New Deal for Britain – an ambitious economic strategy to build back better after coronavirus, by putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of the Government’s plans. This funding forms part of the New Deal, which allocated a total of £1.5 billion this year for hospital maintenance, hospital building and A&E expansion.
The funding also comes on top of the additional £3 billion that the Prime Minister recently announced to help prepare the NHS for the winter months ahead. This funding will allow the NHS to continue to use the extra hospital capacity acquired from the independent sector through the coronavirus pandemic, and also to maintain the Nightingale hospitals until the end of March next year.
Commenting, Justin Tomlinson said:
“Staff at the Great Western Hospital have worked tirelessly over recent months, and I would like to thank them for everything they have done to get our local community through the coronavirus pandemic.
“While we hope for the best this winter, its right that we plan for the worst. This funding to upgrade A&E facilities across the Trust will ensure that we are in the best possible position for the challenges that the winter months may bring.
“As a Conservative, the NHS is my top priority and I was re-elected last December on a promise to deliver record NHS investment and level up the health service across the country. I am delighted to see the Conservatives in Government getting on with doing exactly that.”
Also commenting, Health Secretary Matt 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.
“During the peak of the pandemic we saw millions of people using NHS 111 to get the best possible advice on Covid-19, and other urgent NHS services. These pilots will build on this and test whether we can deliver quicker access to the right care, provide a better service for the public and ensure our dedicated NHS staff aren’t overwhelmed.
“We all need to play our part by washing our hands regularly, using a face covering and keeping our distance from those not in our household. We are determined to protect the NHS as we did during the peak.”
