An £8 million scheme that will help increase the size of the Emergency Department (ED) at Southend Hospital and improve patient waiting times has had its first image unveiled. The phased expansion will see extra capacity, to support more rapid assessment, treatment cubicles and extra resuscitation space. This will support faster ambulance handovers.
There will also be a separate dedicated children’s emergency entrance, which had not been the case before. This will enable parents and children to have their own dedicated entry point away from the general emergency department. This supports better safeguarding.
It will be a phased development to help minimise disruption in the existing emergency department, with work expected to begin this year with the final completed works expected during the course of 2024 / 2025.
Additionally, in the more immediate term, to help manage demand this coming winter, the older Dowsett Ward will be developed subject to approvals. This will be converted into a clinical assessment unit of 16 spaces, that will enable emergency patients to be monitored and treated. This first transformation will be completed in time for winter 2023.
Southend had the smallest capacity of all the emergency departments across the Trust, making its expansion especially important.
The Department of Health and Social Care agreed to fund the scheme following support from local MPs, including Rebecca Harris, and in recognition of the capacity constraints on the Southend Hospital site, which has made caring for an increasing and ageing population more difficult in recent years.
The expansion plans have been supported by a range of local stakeholders, including the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board, local councillors, and MPs.
Rebecca Harris MP said:
“This is such good news for Castle Point residents, I’m delighted we’ve been able to secure the funds. Also congratulations to Chief Operating Officer Andrew Pike and his team for putting this scheme together at pace with tight deadlines. It will make a huge difference for everyone locally but especially parents attending with children and by taking a huge pressure off our hard-working Ambulance Service.”
Andrew Pike, Chief Operating Officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said:
“This funding means we’ve been able to start the important work to design and improve facilities for local residents. It’s an important, much-needed modernisation project that is vital to help us develop a bigger and better department that is fit for the needs of our growing population. These phased works will see much-needed improvements in our emergency department.
“These major improvements will provide more space for emergency care, improve ambulance handover times during busy periods, and help meet the growing demand at the front door of Southend Hospital.”
