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A multi-million pound investment at York Hospital will help develop a brand new two-storey extension and eight bedded resuscitation area to the Emergency Department to increase capacity and improve care for patients.

Work is due to begin next month on the £15 million project to expand and reconfigure the department’s urgent and emergency care facilities.  This will deliver a vital new eight bedded resuscitation area along with improvements to both the waiting room and the consultation and treatment areas.

Gary Kitching, Consultant and Clinical Director in Emergency Medicine, said: “These much-needed improvements will make an enormous difference to the department. As well as twelve new assessment and treatment cubicles, where patients will be met by the senior team as soon as they arrive, there will be a dedicated safe room for mental health patients.

“The new resuscitation zone is a huge upgrade, increasing our capacity significantly, with a dedicated area for children. There will also be a new infectious diseases cubicle that includes a point of care testing laboratory and glazed cubicles for privacy and infection control.”

The new remodelled waiting area will include a separate children's area and supporting facilities such as nappy changing area.

A huge project to improve children’s services across the Trust’s emergency departments has helped bring about improvements in the quality and experience of care that children and young people receive across our hospital sites.

Improvements have been made in Scarborough Emergency Department with the creation of a new children’s assessment unit and the introduction of a new paediatric emergency department at York Hospital.

At Scarborough Hospital the Children’s Assessment Unit has been developed to improve the experience of children and young people from the moment they set foot in the emergency department.  By having registered children’s nurses, a paediatric registrar and healthcare support at the front of house, the team has been able to reduce unnecessary waits and delays, reduce admissions to wards and create a better patient experience for those who do not require immediate acute admission.

The new paediatric emergency department at York Hospital has also had a hugely positive impact for patients by providing specialist nursing and medical care in a safe and dedicated space.  It has meant children no longer have to wait in adult waiting spaces and has seen significant improvements in emergency care standards, reduction in breaches, increased discharges from the emergency department and a smoother transition when children have needed to be admitted.

The department has recruited a phenomenal team of twelve specialist children’s nurses to provide two nurses 24 hours a day seven days a week - the first people the patients see as they come into the service and are triaged.

York eye services have relocated to the York Community Stadium for patients who require regular follow-up and treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as intravitreal therapy.

The Trust has invested £1.1million in state of the art equipment for the eye service at the stadium, which incorporates £800k on specialist equipment and £300k on fitting out the vision alleys, as well as treatment, injection and waiting rooms.

The service, which will be supported and delivered by a team of specialist nurses, clinical staff, doctors and consultants, will enable the Trust to see an additional 7,000 patients a year. Read more about the service on our website.