Children and renal patients in east and north Hertfordshire are set to benefit from new and improved facilities this year thanks to funding from NHS England.
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust has received more than £27 million in funding to improve its facilities, including a new £11 million children’s care centre at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
Significant capital funding will transform care for children and renal patients at Lister Hospital, helping to build a new paediatric unit on site that will relocate and reconfigure inpatient and outpatient children’s wards.
In addition, the trust can now move forward with further improvements to its renal services, including upgrading facilities and developing its life-changing home dialysis service to benefit more patients.
Funding also allows for investment in the Lister Urgent Treatment Centre, ward refurbishment, replacement scanners and backlog maintenance. The new scanners include one MRI, two CT and an interventional radiology suite which uses image guidance for minimally invasive procedures.
Building works on the new paediatric unit at Lister will begin later this year, and detailed planning is now under way to ensure the new facility meets the needs of its staff, patients and families.
Further enhancements are also planned to emergency care, which includes improvements to Lister Hospital’s ambulance handover area – with works due to be completed in the coming weeks.
Elizabeth Franklin-Jones, divisional director of nursing and quality for children and young people at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, said:
“This investment is an exciting and essential opportunity for us to create an environment that is purpose-built for children and their families, while also improving facilities for our staff.
“What makes this opportunity special, is that these ideas and plans have come from the team and the voices of children, young people and their families. We have drawn on their experiences and their shared commitment to championing what truly matters to those we care for.”
Martin Armstrong, deputy chief executive at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, said:
“The impact this investment will bring cannot be understated – particularly for local families and those further afield who benefit from the care provided by our staff on our children’s wards.
“I am really pleased that we have secured this investment from NHS England. Although we are not part of the New Hospital Programme, this funding ensures we will remain a safe, modern hospital that is fit for the future.”
The trust -– which also runs Hertford County Hospital in Hertford, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood and the New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City – will share further details about the specific improvements as plans are finalised, with updates published on its website and social media channels throughout the year.
