Hospitals get £1.8m funding for winter
SOUTHPORT and Ormskirk hospitals will receive a shared £1.8million investment to help them manage through winter.
The additional Government funding will be used to make improvements at both sites and comes amid warnings that a second wave of Covid-19 infections would add significant strain on the NHS.
The £1.8m investment will include support for temporary changes made to patient services which were put in place to meet the challenges of the pandemic. The work will include:
A purposeddesigned, temporary Medical Day Unit at Ormskirk hospital
Improvements to A&E and urgent care services at Southport hospital
Enhanced infection protection measures in children’s A&E at Orm- skirk hospital
Investment in equip- ment and clinical support for patients with respiratory conditions
The funding was welcomed by Southport MP Damien Moore and South Ribble representative Katherine Fletcher, whose constituency includes Hesketh Bank and Tarleton.
The Conservative MPs praised hospital staff for working ‘tirelessly’ throughout the outbreak and said that “while we hope for the best this winter, its right that we plan for the worst”.
Chief executive Trish ArmstrongChild said: “We have been planning for winter with Covid since June and this investment further strengthens those plans.
“Our number one priority has, and always will be, the welfare and safety of our patients and staff.
“Covid-19 has significantly disrupted the working life of our hospitals and we have had to radically change how we work to minimise the risk of infection.
“Colleagues are working hard to return many services to as near normal as possible – but we are also having to keep in place some temporary changes for now to deliver our winter plan.’’
She continued: “These include the transfer of the Medical Day Unit to Ormskirk and retaining many of the restrictions on visiting.
“I know this will be difficult and concerning news for some people but these changes are likely to stay in place until Covid-19 is properly under control.
“I want to thank our staff, our patients and their families for their tremendous support over the past few months. We will get through this and get through it together.”