Patients to benefit from new multi-million pound facilities at Newham Hospital
We are investing over £25 million in improving the infrastructure and equipment at Newham Hospital over the next year to provide more and better services for patients.
Plans include spending £5.2 million to refurbish and reinstate two mothballed operating theatres at the hospital, thanks to an award from NHS England’s Targeted Investment Fund. Bringing these theatres back online will enable approximately 2,100 additional surgery day-cases to be delivered at Newham Hospital each year.
To begin with, they will be predominately used for gynaecology and general surgical procedures, but they can also be used to carry out other types of surgeries including urology and ear, nose and throat, depending on clinical priority and waiting times.
Another large part of the investment – over £16 million – is going towards a brand-new building that will house a 26-bed general ward and a 14-bed critical care unit.
The former will give the hospital flexibility so we can adapt to and meet the needs of the local population. The latter will be purpose-built to enable our staff to provide a better level of care for the most critically-ill patients.
Work has already begun on a site located near the St Andrew’s Wing entrance of the hospital, and the new facilities are expected to be operational by mid-summer 2023.
We are also spending a further £3.5 million on installing a second CT scanner to assess more patients faster. With capacity to carry out 12,500 scans a year, this machine will be open to patients from other hospitals in the Barts Health group, and in due course to others across the whole of north east London.
The new scanner will use a lower radiation dose than older machines and enable us to carry out coronary scans for the first time. Patient preparation, examination and diagnosis is expected to take less than 10 minutes.
Simon Ashton, chief executive of Newham Hospital said:
“I’m thrilled to see these new investments in our hospital infrastructure. They will help us deliver our vision and provide better care to the people of Newham and north east London.”