Emergency Floor development gathers pace

A £20 million scheme to create an Emergency Floor on the ground floor of Lambeth Wing and East Wing at St Thomas’ Hospital reaches a major milestone this week.

The development will improve the care of emergency patients by transforming not only the Emergency Department (A&E) but also the wards which patients are admitted to from A&E when they need hospital treatment.

This week the acute medical wards currently located on Victoria Ward and Sarah Swift Ward in East Wing will move to the Emergency Floor and will be renamed the Admission Ward.

Relocating the wards to the ground floor of the hospital means they will be closer to A&E which is good news for patients who need to be admitted.

The ward moves take place on Tuesday 28 July and Wednesday 29 July.

In addition, on Thursday 30 July there will be a number of other moves:

• Children’s Emergency Department (A&E) moves to a temporary location on the Emergency Floor
• Emergency Department (A&E) registration, initial assessment and main waiting area move to a new temporary location on the Emergency Floor
• Emergency Department (A&E) pedestrian entrance moves to a temporary location next to the current entrance – external access from Lambeth Palace Road will be maintained.

The £20 million Emergency Floor development includes not only a bigger and better A&E department for patients with serious and life-threatening conditions but also an expanded Urgent Care Centre where patients with less serious conditions can be treated by GPs and emergency nurse practitioners.

This major investment is bringing together emergency services in a single area of St Thomas’ Hospital in order to improve not only the quality, safety and efficiency of care but also the overall experience of patients requiring emergency treatment.