‘This will ensure our patients get the best care!’ Brand new £45 million emergency department will accept first patients at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital today

A new emergency department will be accepting its first patients today - with staff ‘giddy’ at the chance to get to work in their new environment.

In huge step forward from the ‘cramped’ A&E department at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, phase one of the new £45 million project will be opening its doors.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Professor Karen Dunderdale welcomed the opening of the state-of-the-art building, which will cater for many people in South Lincolnshire.

“If any of the residents of Boston or the surrounding area have been to the emergency department, you can see how cramped it is, and how difficult it is for the amazing staff who work there every day to deliver amazing care,” she said.

“We know the experience for some of our patients just isn’t what we would want it to be.

“They outgrew that department years ago, so to have this first phase is phenomenal.”

Prof Dunderdale added the new building will make patient care so much easier for her staff.

“When they come into this new department their jaws drop. Then they go back to where they work now and really see the difference, they’re giddy at the thought of working here,” she continued.

“This has been a long time coming for residents and our staff as well.

“I’m so excited, I’m really proud of it. I’m a nurse by background and before I became chief exec I was director of nursing.

Click here for a behind the scenes look at the new emergency department

“I spent a lot of time in the emergency department supporting staff, particularly through Covid - I arrived five days before the lockdown.

“It’s fantastic to see all of this.”

Phase one will include eight resuscitation cubicles to care for the sickest patients, 12 majors cubicles for those patients who are seriously ill, but not in immediate life-threatening danger, direct department access for ambulances and a relatives’ room which can be used to update families, as well as provide a space for them to spend time with their loved ones who may have passed away in the department.

A specialist pediatric area has also been temporarily created, although this will move into a larger area when phase two - which is twice the size of phase one - is opened in around 18 months’ time.

For matron Philippa Davies the improved patient experience is the most vital aspect of the new emergency department.

“For us, it’s all about the patient experience and this department will ensure our patients get the best care in a more spacious, purpose built and modern environment,” she said.

“It will be so much better. You don’t want to come to A&E, but if you need to then there’s a place which is more spacious, modern and allows our staff to look after our patients better as well.”

Dr Rajeshwar Ranganathan was all smiles when he spoke to LincsOnline last week.

“We’re absolutely excited. We strongly believe this is a milestone development in emergency healthcare in Lincolnshire,” he said.

“The first change is the size of the emergency department, and the opportunities that’s given us.

“We’ve improved the department across the entire spectrum compared to the facilities we’ve had before.

“We are also proud of The Swan Room. We are in a position to look after the ones who passed away in a more dignified and private manner.

“Patients and their families have private space.”

The Swan Room is an example of how patients and their families were invited to have their input in the design of the building, while staff’s views were also taken into account.

“Every single member of staff, the unsung heroes, the porters the cleaners, the estate staff,the engineers, as well as the doctors, nurses and physios, everyone has been involved in all this,” Prof Dunderdale added.

“The companies that have helped us build this have been really accommodating and helped us flex, getting a staff kitchens in and making a few little differences along the way that seem quite simple but will have a huge impact.

“I’m really proud of the staff and new building and also what’s to come.”

The new emergency department was announced by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019 during a visit to the site where he also pledged £21.3 million towards funding.

The self sufficient net zero building also houses staff rooms and offices, as well as a plant room to house all of the pipework, infrastructure and air handling units needed for the first and second phases of the new department.

The new building uses air source heat pumps, is carbon neutral and has been designed with the pledge by the NHS to be the world’s first net zero national health service by 2045.

Work has already begun on the next phase.

This will see the new department knocked through to a corridor in the next few months to create some additional rapid assessment and treatment cubicles.

The rest of the current emergency department will then be taken back to the steel infrastructure and rebuilt from the ground up.

This will then house the main entrance, waiting room, triage area, Urgent Treatment Centre and dedicated paediatrics area.