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Mobila avdelningar skapar en medicinsk korttidsvårdsenhet på Great Western Hospital

Anläggningen vid GWH i Swindon, Wiltshire, erbjuder ytterligare 20 sängplatser för personer med lindriga tillstånd som kan behandlas inom 72 timmar.

Behovet:

The Great Western Hospital was running close to capacity, with bed occupancy at about 98-100%.

Benny Goodman, chief operating officer at the hospital, said: "We need more space for patients given a growing and ageing population, so this short stay unit is the first step in that direction."

The opening of the unit would come during the third heatwave in as many months and follows the busiest winter on record for the GWH, which led to long waits in emergency care services.

As a hospital spokesperson said "An increase in emergency demand, including a rise in ambulance arrivals and Emergency Department attendance, has increased the strain on the hospital."

The mobile units were intended to improve patient flow, facilitate safer staffing levels and eliminate the treatment of patients in inappropriate clinical settings.

"In the longer term, the new units will also help provide capacity to enable us to carry out refurbishment work on wards in the main hospital, by giving us additional space to care for patients while this work is carried out," the spokesperson added.

“The unit will care for patients who need short-term observation and treatment and will ultimately help more people receive the right care more quickly while easing demand on the hospital's urgent and emergency care services.”

Heidi Alexander, Member of Parliament for Swindon South

Planen:

Vanguard Healthcare Solutions would install three mobile wards, seamlessly connecting them to form a Medical Short Stay Facility. The three wards provide 20 beds and supported by accessible toilets and showers, clean and dirty utility areas, a kitchen, a staff changing area, linen stores and offices - all with air-conditioning.

The solution:

Goodman said the MSSU gives them an "opportunity to increase the quality of care we're giving to patients over the coming months and years".

The hospital has a contract to keep the units in place for up to two years, but there is potential to extend that if permanent expansion is not viable.

Goodman told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "The capacity is here to stay, we're not going to be able to operate without an increase in capacity in the long term."

Councillor Vinay Manro said the MSSU is a "positive step" for Swindon residents but questioned whether "additional permanent capacity" is needed in the future.