Critical care boosted in hospital revamp

Surgery transferred to Royal Oldham

SERIOUSLY ill patients will be treated in a new and improved high dependency unit (HDU) which opens at the Royal Oldham Hospital this month.

The HDU has new equipment and two extra critical care beds, increasing the unit from six to eight beds.

It will be opened on ward T2 at the hospital following a £413,000 investment by the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.

The HDU supports patients who need critical care that cannot be provided on a general hospital ward, such as those requiring more detailed observation, intervention or post-operative care and those stepping down from higher levels of care.

As part of the Healthy Futures programme, the Royal Oldham Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital will become specialist sites for major elective and major non-elective surgery.

The plans aim to improve the care of patients by centralising the skills and expertise of doctors and nursing staff.

The changes, which come into effect on November 29, will mean the centralisation of inpatient vascular surgical services and transfer of urology and acute surgery from Rochdale Infirmary to Oldham.

The Royal Oldham Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) will also expand from six to eight beds.

The HDU at North Manchester General Hospital will increase its number of beds from 12 to 14.

Chris Sleight, divisional director of diagnostics and clinical support at the trust, said: “The changes in surgical services across the trust will change the demand for critical care across our hospitals.

“In order to support the increased demand at the Royal Oldham as a result of the surgical changes, an additional two ICU beds and two HDU beds are required.

“These improved facilities and changes to our critical care services, both in the ICU and HDU at Oldham, will ensure that we can support the changes to surgical services as part of Healthy Futures.”

Sir Jonathan Asbridge, programme director of Healthy Futures, added: “The Healthy Futures programme boasts a very high level of clinical and patient involvement throughout the consultation and delivery process.

“The next phase of the implementation sees a range of centralisation of hospital services to enable Pennine Acute Hospital Trust to provide local people with the very best of treatment and care.”