Sixty new beds for George Eliot Hospital as two new wards lifted into place

Patients at George Eliot Hospital are set to benefit as two new 30-bed wards have started to take shape, with the first blocks lifted into place this week.

The 60 new beds increase the capacity of the hospital by 20 percent and are set to open in 2024, during what is predicted to be one of the busiest periods the NHS has ever faced.

The new wards mean the hospital will be able to provide more patients with the timely care they need in a modern and tailored environment.

Dr Catherine Free, Managing Director of George Eliot Hospital, said: “This is a fantastic development for our hospital and important for the local community as we once more make major improvements to our hospital, putting us at the forefront of being able to deliver patient centred care as a time of continued increased demand.

“It is truly wonderful to see this essential new infrastructure start to take shape after months of planning and we are certain this will help us continue to deliver more excellent care which our patients need and deserve.”

The new wards have been made possible through a £15m grant from the Department of Health and Social Care, which is part of £250 million government funding for Urgent and Emergency Care helping to provide 900 new hospital beds across the country in order to treat patients more quickly.

George Eliot Hospital has also been awarded £6m revenue to get the new facilities ready to deliver care as soon as possible. The wards are situated on top of one of the most recent additions to the hospital, the Captain Sir Tom Moore unit, which opened in September 2020 and was built with further expansion in mind.

Dr Free added: “As part of our long-term vision, we want to be able to provide more patients with the best care possible. To be able to achieve this due to the hard work and planning put in place is truly a vote of confidence in George Eliot Hospital for the future.

“The development will also give us the opportunity for more improvements across the hospital by giving us space to move patients and update and improve some of our older facilities.

“Our patients are at the heart of everything we do. To be able to build these wards is a significant step for us in being able to show our community that we are here for them when they need us.”