Our current facilities for providing urgent and emergency care at Great Western Hospital are inadequate. The facilities are too small and pressure on space will only increase. The local population is growing and ageing. Demand for emergency care has almost doubled. 30,500 patients in Swindon have more than 3 chronic conditions and the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic will be felt for years to come. This adds up to heightened pressure on beds, longer lengths of stay and a poor patient experience
Our plans will enable us to expand the space available to see patients needing emergency care and some of our existing emergency medicine services, currently on the third floor of the hospital, moved to the ground floor. The combination of the UTC and co-location of services will create one entrance for all urgent and emergency care patients. Patients will be assessed at the door and directed to the most appropriate areas for the treatment they require. This will ensure that staff in our Emergency Department are seeing those patients who really do need emergency treatment whilst ensuring that those who require urgent care are not left waiting for their treatment.
All this means that we will be able to provide an improved level of care and a much better experience of accessing urgent and emergency care at our hospital.
