Stephen Morgan MP visited QA Hospital to meet with the senior leadership team to review plans, catch up on progress being made and visit the site of the new urgent care centre
The city MP successfully lobbied the government to secure funding for the new department at Cosham which received approval in October last year, and has been keeping an eye on progress since.
The new department is due to complete in advance of Winter 2024 and will enable the local NHS to better meet the needs of the local community and provide the best clinical care in a modern, safe environment.
Mr Morgan met on Friday with the hospital’s executive team to catch up on the plans, as well as current issues and challenges frontline NHS staff face, during a walkabout of existing emergency service wards during a busy time for the hospital.
The visit comes at a time when the NHS has had its toughest winter on record, and when 50.4% of patients attending major A&E departments across the country are not seen within the target time of four hours – the first time on record the figure has been more than half.
Mr Morgan also called on the government to urgently provide more support to tackle the workforce problems facing the NHS at this time which are leading to record-long waiting lists for patients.
The new Emergency Department is set to deliver:
- Eight adult resus bays for patients needing treatment for critical conditions.
- Two additional resus bays for children.
- Faster and direct access to our radiology teams for scans and tests.
- A streamlined design to improve visibility of patients.
- Adults and children treated in single rooms, not only improving privacy and dignity but also helping to prevent any spread of infectious conditions.
- Two waiting areas for children and young people.
- Designated ED drop off zone as well as disabled car parking close to the entrance.
- Better access for ambulances with a covered handover area.
- An accredited Changing Places accessible facility.
- Energy efficient design and engineering.
- Easy-to-understand signage and wayfinding for visitors.
- Dedicated rest areas for staff.
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“It was really helpful to meet with the team at QA Hospital to see first-hand the constraints being faced by our dedicated NHS staff and the challenges they are dealing with in the current Emergency Department.
“The new urgent care centre will go some way to ease the huge pressures these services are under.
“I was proud to play my part in securing the investment QA Hospital so desperately needs to improve patient care, and the visit provided the opportunity to review plans and see for myself the building starting to take shape”.
Demand on urgent and emergency services has increased throughout the Portsmouth and the surrounding area and the facility has been planned by clinicians to help support this demand and offer an improved environment for both patients and staff.
On winter pressures this year, the Portsmouth MP added:
“It was clear from conversations with staff that the government needs to do more to tackle the workforce problems facing the NHS which are leading to record-long waiting lists for patients.
“The next Labour Government will deliver a new 10-year plan for the NHS, including one of the biggest expansions of the NHS workforce in history, higher standards for patients, and a new model of care.”
You can take a virtual tour of the new care centre with a fly through video to see how the design will help NHS staff to work in a more streamlined way, continue to improve patient safety and provide the best possible care.
As well as campaigning to protect NHS services and lobbying for investment in local services, Mr Morgan recently called on the Government to back the University of Portsmouth’s bid to open a medical school in the city to train the NHS workforce of the future.
