Parts of new £13m A&E at Blackpool Vic to be completed as early as Christmas

Work on a bigger and better emergency department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital will begin sooner than expected - with some areas set to be completed by Christmas.
The new A&E plansThe new A&E plans
The new A&E plans

The £13m planned extension at the hospital, on Whinney Heys Road, includes an urgent care department, an X-ray room, major and minor injuries wards, an ambulance triage area,a resuscitation room, and separate waiting rooms for adults and children.

The work was due to start in 2023 but is now set to begin two and a half years ahead of schedule thanks to part of a share of £300 million allocated across the country by the Government to upgrade facilities.

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The waiting area and minors area – treating non-life threatening emergency illness and injuries – are expected to be completed by late December.

Emergency village and critical care development lead Nigel Fort, said: “A fundamental element of the redesign of the emergency department has been to open up the waiting area, which gives us an opportunity to increase our social distancing capability almost five fold compared to the existing position. This will future-proof the department and lead to a much better experience for our patients and visitors.

“By moving the existing minors into an enlarged new location this will allow for the generation of five additional cubicles in majors – the area that treats seriously ill emergency patients.

“Thanks to the determination of the team, we now have plans for a class-leading development of which Blackpool and the Fylde coast can be proud, with the first phases being in place in the next few months. When people see the fly-through they will realise how transformational this scheme will be.’’

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Emergency department lead Dr Adeline Israel said: “I am delighted to see the plans we have been working on for months come alive through the brilliant work of the architects.

“Currently our exceptional staff are working under extremely challenging conditions. The newly planned A&E will offer a much better environment for the staff to deliver high quality of care with improved outcomes.

“It is important for the public to understand that these changes are made to prevent crowding which is detrimental to everyone’s safety. The emergency department must be for emergencies only.”

Work on the wider emergency department development is scheduled to begin in 2022. A new mental health liaison unit is also being developed at the Vic opposite A&E.

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