BUILDERS have moved in to start work on the multi-million pound expansion of the A&E department at Worcestershire Royal.
On Monday (October 19) initial works took place to ensure everything was ready for the main build before work can get started on the extension to the emergency department.
A brand new entrance will be added to the A&E as well as temporary entrances to the Medical Assessment Unit.
When completed the expanded unit will have an additional waiting area, triage room and a new area for treating minor injuries with extra consulting space for GPs and nurses.
The £4million cash injection was announced back in September to help hospital staff cope with the increase in demand at the city’s A&E.
The hospital was originally built to deal with about 45,000 people at a time, but has been treating about 66,500 putting a strain on A&E services as the population gets bigger and people live longer.
Dr James France, Consultant in Emergency Medicine said:
“The level of A&E attendance at Worcester is currently more than 50 per cent greater than was originally planned for when the hospital was built.
“The extra room will help us to triage patients much quicker.”
Hospital staff said disruption will be kept to a minimum during the first phase of work which is due to be completed in December, with the main extension to be finished by Spring 2016.
