We are changing the emergency and inpatient services at our hospitals, which includes A&E (emergency department), so that in future we can provide the very best, modern and specialist care for our patients.
This work involves moving these services from the QEII in Welwyn Garden City to an expanded and redeveloped Lister Hospital in Stevenage. At the same time, the local primary care trust (NHS Hertfordshire) is building the new QEII hospital– more details on which are available on our new QEII page:
How these changes will benefit patients and NHS staff
Our senior doctors and nurses support these changes because they will:
- Improve the quality of care provided to our patients
- Bring together all of the Trust’s specialist clinical staff onto one site
- Ensure that the right patients are treated in the right place and at the right time
- Allow the Trust to have more effective staffing rotas – especially senior doctors and nurses being present on site for longer periods of the day
The redesign of our emergency and inpatient hospital services will:
- Bring emergency and inpatient care together at the Lister in specialised, high-tech environments
- Mean that investment in services that work alongside our emergency teams will ensure that our patients get the best possible care
A business case has been written for the redevelopment of the Lister site and has been approved by the Department of Health. It covers the projects outlined in the table below:
| Service | Changes planned |
|---|---|
| Emergency care |
|
| Critical care, wards 7a, 11a and 10a |
|
| Theatres and endoscopy and elective admissions unit |
|
| Health records |
|
| Pathology and mortuary |
|
| Chemotherapy |
|
| New ward block |
|
Outline business case for phase 4
Programme update:
The Trust’s Our changing hospitals project team is currently working on the details of the phase four programme. It includes clinical staff who are leading on the relevant the project groups.
Key dates:
October 2009 – Initial outline business case was approved by the Trust Board. Based on subsequent feedback from NHS Hertfordshire, the business case was revised to reflect the PCT’s commissioning intentions for the next few years.
May 2010 – Major changes to the therapy services at the Lister took place. A number of services moved off the hospital site to ensure there is sufficient space to construct an enlarged emergency department and new ward block.
September 2010 – NHS Hertfordshire were given the go ahead to consider the outline business case. It was approved by the Trust Board on 22 September, NHS East and North Hertfordshire (PCT) on 29 September and NHS Hertfordshire (SHA) on 30 September.
August 2011 – The business case was approved by the Department of Health and Treasury on 4 August.
March 2014 – The new enlarged emergency department and urgent care centre at Lister is expected to open to patients which will provide emergency services for all of east and north Hertfordshire, as well as parts of south Bedfordshire.
March 2014 – The new theatre and endoscopy block at Lister is expected to open to patients.
March 2014 – The new ward block at Lister will open.
