DEMOLITION work as part of Arrowe Park Hospital's emergency and urgent care facility upgrade is to begin next week.
Early enablement works have now been completed in phase one of the Urgent and Emergency Care Upgrade Programme (UECUP), including the relocation and redrawing of overflow ambulance bays and disabled car parking spaces, movement of a high voltage power cable and the temporary relocation of the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC).
The emergency department and UTC will remain open and operational throughout the project. Any disruption caused is expected to be minimum.
The next stage in the build will see the planned demolition of the old, now empty UTC building, including the first-floor offices.
The £28m scheme is described as the biggest investment since Arrowe Park Hospital opened and is expected to transform urgent care in Wirral.
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of WUTH, said: "The planned demolition is an exciting step towards delivering the new emergency and urgent care facility at Arrowe Park Hospital.
"It is great to see this project developing, allowing us to transform emergency care for the people of the Wirral.”
Representation of road approach. Image produced by DAY Architectural Ltd.
Day Architectural are the architects for the project.
The demolition is set to begin on Monday (July 4) and expected to last approximately five weeks.
This will not affect any services at the hospital. Access points to patient facilities are clearly marked, and blue light emergency ambulance access will continue as normal.
The project, which is a collaboration between Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, (WUTH) and Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (WCHC,) with additional funding from the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Health Infrastructure Plan, will transform emergency care for the people of the Wirral.
Once completed, the upgrade will create a full urgent and emergency care refurbishment, a dedicated ambulance entrance with enhanced privacy and dignity for patients, a larger ambulance set down area with greater capacity, and a single-entry point; ensuring that patients are provided with the right care in the right place at the right time.
Staff in the department will benefit from improved working spaces in clinical areas, a dedicated staff entrance leading directly to the new welfare areas, refurbished training facilities, and open layouts to encourage collaborative teamwork.
Representation of patient entrance. Image produced by DAY Architectural Ltd.
Matthew Swanborough, director of strategy and partnerships at WUTH, said: "Due to the hard work of our dedicated colleagues across both NHS Foundation Trusts, and through the support of the local community and Wirral Council, we have been able to reach this first milestone in the project.
"I'd like to thank our patients, visitors and staff for their continued cooperation throughout this build."
Phase two of the build is expected to begin in October this year, with the completion of the project due in March 2024.
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