Warwick Hospital to get share of £5millon cash boost to prepare for winter

Warwick Hospital is set to get a share of a £5million cash boot to help prepare for winter.

On Tuesday (August 11) the Prime Minister announced during a visit to Wye Valley NHS Trust that Warwickshire hospitals, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust (GEH) and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT), will be allocated £5million to assist with winter pressures.

Consistently the winter months for the NHS has resulted in capacity challenges due to increased demand for services.

This year, the impact of Covid-19 has created and could generate further disruptions to the NHS.

Therefore, the purpose of the funding is to upgrade GEH and SWFT hospitals’ infrastructure to help the trusts prepare for potential coronavirus outbreaks and winter pressures.

The SWFT, which operates Warwick Hospital, has been assigned £2million from the fund and is a share of £300million divided amongst 117 NHS trusts across the country.

It will be using the money to create extra space to treat patients.

SWFT is designing additional clinical space to be located at Warwick Hospital that will support treatment of a large proportion of patients requiring urgent care.

These additional facilities will support patients to be seen in the right environment.

Due to Covid-19 the Trust has had to reduce the space used within the current department and this new development will help to release some of that space back to the hospital’s A&E teams.

The development is planned to be in place by the end of December.

Glen Burley, Chief Executive for George Eliot NHS Trust and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are delighted to receive this funding for Warwickshire urgent care services.

"We are facing a difficult winter ahead while still recovering from the Covid pandemic and this funding will ensure we have the facilities required to support our staff to deliver high quality care for our local communities.

“We have worked hard and made all the necessary adjustments to ensure our hospitals are safe for patients to attend.

"Therefore, I would like to actively encourage you not to be scared to access our services when you need us.

"Please do not delay seeking medical advice or miss planned appointments as this could lead to further health complications.”