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Trust 'committed to improving facilities' with £2.5m investment in Altnagelvin ED

Mike McBrideBBC News NI
News imageBBC A close up of a sign outside Altnagelvin Hospital, which says the name of the building in large lettering. It is a tall building with a mix of facades including brown brick and grey cladding.BBC
The Western Trust says the investment over the past year has helped improve patient flow and enhance facilities for patients, families and staff

The Western Trust had said it has invested £2.5m to upgrade the Emergency Department (ED) at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry to help meet levels of demand.

It said the investment over the past year had helped improve patient flow and facilities for patients, their families and staff.

The trust said it continued to work towards a longer-term goal of securing a new purpose-built Emergency Department but was committed to improving the current facilities.

Recent work include a new kitchen for patients, expanded vending services in the main waiting area, and a dedicated treatment space with external access for patients requiring isolation or infectious disease care.

News imagePacemaker The front entrance of Altnagelvin hospital in Londonderry. A woman in a red coat can be seen walking past a statue while a number of parked cars sit outside the hospital entrance. It is dry and sunny, two trees are in the foreground, a number of hospital buildings in the background.Pacemaker
The trust says the existing department was dealing with levels of demand it was not originally designed to accommodate

Further work is currently under way, including an extension to the assessment and treatment area and expanded and upgraded waiting areas.

The trust also said it was improving staff rest facilities and access between clinical areas, with the work expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

Planning is also under way to further expand the department's resuscitation area.

Investments 'making a real difference' in ED

Geraldine McKay, director of acute services at the Western Trust, said the organisation recognised the pressures facing the department and the impact they could have on patients, families and staff.

McKay added that the investment would not resolve every challenge facing the department but was "making a real difference" to the thousands of people who use it each year.

The trust said pressures within the ED could not be addressed through physical expansion alone.

It said factors including increasing demand, more complex patient needs, hospital capacity, timely discharges and the availability of community services all affected patient flow.