£1m boost for county hospital and services
REMOVAL OF ASBESTOS AND REMODELLING OF OF TREATMENT AREAS
RUTLAND Memorial Hospital has been given £1 million to help improve its building and services, with one ward temporarily relocating to another town during the work.
The hospital received the money from Leicester Partnership NHS Trust, which had agreed to invest in the hospital in 2020.
The funding will be used on a number of areas around the hospital, including new outpatient treatment areas, a redesign of patient areas and urgent building and roofing work.
The trust said it intends to improve the patient experience at the hospital, which had been announced as at risk of closure in 2017.
Rutland and Melton MP Alicia has campaigned to keep the hospital open and see more money invested into it since her election in 2019.
Rutland Memorial is one of the older hospitals in Leicestershire and Rutland, being built as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. It opened in 1925.
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has said other work will include boilers being replaced, asbestos being removed and significant remodelling of some areas to provide more storage space for staff.
The work is to begin this month and patients have been warned there will be some disruption to treatments.
The inpatient hospital ward will be temporarily relocated to Loughborough Hospital from August 22 to January.
Nikki Beacher, an assistant director for the trust, said: “I am excited about the opportunity this creates to improve the experience for our patients.
“We have decided to relocate the ward while the work is being done due to the disruptive nature of the construction work as the contractors will be generating dust and noise and will need to turn off the power at regular intervals.
“For the duration we will open an equivalent number of beds at Loughborough Hospital, but where possible we will care for Rutland residents more locally in our community hospitals in Melton and Market Harborough.”
Ms Kearns said: “I am extremely pleased by news that the trust is investing £1 million into Rutland Memorial Hospital. The money will be used on a variety of areas, including vital works, new outpatient treatment areas and a redesign of patient areas as well as some really urgent work around the roof and building.
“This investment will see the patient experience improve and help to ensure the future of our wonderful hospital. I will continue to work with the trust to deliver on these promises.”