It’s time to bring back full A&E

I’M delighted that refurbishment work to improve the Emergency Department at Cheltenham General Hospital has started this week.

The public areas were starting to look dated and so it’s good news that the main reception and waiting area are being renovated, as part of a much wider investment in the hospital.

Contractors are expected to be on site for eight weeks, finishing work by the end of July.

If you do need to attend the ED during this period, the reception and waiting room area will be relocated to the old fracture clinic in College Road wing, where the GP out-of-hours operates.

Patients being blue lighted will still use the current entrance for ambulances, and ‘walk-in’ patients between 10pm – 8am will also be able to use this access.

I raised concerns about the longer distance that poorly patients will have to walk to get to the reception in College Road, but have been assured that wheelchairs and portering will be available.

This is all part of a large funding package that has been secured for Cheltenham General. Cheltenham’s share of the recent £40million capital boost has been earmarked for modernisation works, theatre improvements and major equipment upgrades. £1million has also been won to support our emergency care services.

And earlier this year we secured a further £10million for projects including refurbishment of Cheltenham’s Apollo Theatre and a replacement chemotherapy prescribing service.

All this has been made possible by a major national funding increase which will see overall spending rise from £122billion this year to £149billion in 2023. All this extra cash for Cheltenham reinforces my determination to keep fighting for doctorled night-time A&E.

I know that our night time nursing teams will continue to do a fantastic job. But with so much investment, now is surely the time to restore full A&E provision to our flagship hospital.