Keys to new A&E unit in Leicester handed over
HOSPITAL bosses have been handed the keys to the new emergency department at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The £43.3 million unit will launch at 4am on Wednesday April 26.
In the run-up staff will be making sure all systems are working as well as familiarising themselves with the layout.
A thorough clean and decontamination will precede the opening.
John Adler, chief executive at University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust said: “After three years in the making, we have now officially taken ownership of our new emergency department from Interserve Construction team. The department is looking fantastic. I want to thank everyone who has been involved to date for all their hard work to get us to this point.” The department features a single ‘front door’ for children, bigger cubicles for patients, more room for ambulances and an integrated mental health department.
Billed as ‘frailty friendly’, it has been specially designed to meet the rising demands of an ageing population.
It will be paper-free, providing a fully electronic service, saving space and speeding up processes.
There will also be CT and MRI scan facilities to reduce waiting times and improve diagnostics and treatment.
Trust chiefs say it will offer a much-improved environment with a better flow for patients.
It is hoped the unit will ease some of the pressure on the LRI. The current casualty department is struggling to cope with the numbers of patients presenting, prompting long waits, cancelled operations and missed targets.
In the last year UHL admitted 255,895 patients across its three sites, the Glenfield, Leicester Royal Infirmary and the General.
Of these some 90,665 were emergency cases with on average 652 patients a day passing through casualty at the LRI.
It meant the trust became the busiest in the country for emergency admissions and contributed to non-compliance in various standards for waiting times and cancer care.
In preparation for the opening signage, pathways and facilities at the Windsor reception are being improved.
Completion of these works will lead to the closure of the Balmoral entrance at the beginning of May.