Facilities open at Blackpool Vic to speed up treatment for A&E patients

Improved facilities include the first of 13 individual cubicles where the most critically ill patients can be treated, and two specially designed rooms for high-risk patients with mental health issues.

A further nine cubicles are due for completion by July.

It is part of the £25m development of an emergency village which saw the newly built 16-bed critical care unit and same day emergency care unit open last summer.

The hospital also now has a new CT scanner which can produce detailed images from inside the body, and three x-ray rooms dedicated to treating emergency patients.

General x-ray manager Jo Peacock said: “We have taken every step to provide excellent quality imaging to aid fast accurate diagnosis for patients, but also with the health and safety of our staff in mind.

“We have also bought a state-of-the-art dental kit and are one of the very few hospitals in the country to have cone beam CT.

“This will aid maxillofacial doctors with diagnosis without the patient having to undergo a high-dose CT imaging. It allows the radiographers to undertake 2D and 3D facial and dental images using low doses to safeguard patient health.”

Further developments expected to be fully operational by Christmas include a six-bay resuscitation area, relative support accommodation and a rapid assessment and triage unit that will double current capacity.

Sarah Senior, acting managing director of Atlas, which has managed the scheme, added: “Atlas is privileged to continue to work alongside the clinical teams in the delivery of the emergency village project.

“As we hand each phase of the development over to the Trust, you can see the final picture forming as each element comes together to create a state-of-the-art facility fit for modern emergency care.”

It is hoped the investment in the emergency village will reduce waiting times for patients as well as improve care.

The latest figures for March this year show 1,671 patients had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E at BVH before they were seen – up from 1,414 the previous month.

The figure means more than eight per cent of emergency patients faced long waits before being treated.