Queen’s Medical Centre bosses say they want a ‘purpose-built trauma centre’ to replace the hospitals overcrowded accident and emergency department.
The emergency department at the hospital currently sees around 550 patients per day, but was designed to see just 350 per day.
In a report on emergency department services published on February 23, health regulator the Care Quality Commission said it ‘requires improvement’ and overcrowding “all too often impacts on the experience of patients”.
The inspection was triggered after the hospital was unable to meet the four-hour waiting time target for patients attending the department in summer 2016.
In June, July and August last year, the hospital’s A&E department was more than 20 per cent below the Government’s 95 per cent benchmark of all patients being treated or discharged within four hours.
Amd in November, the deputy chief executive and medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals, the trust which runs the QMC, Dr Stephen Fowlie, said that they ‘did not have an answer’ as to why the department’s performance had dipped.
Trust Chief Operating Officer Caroline Shaw now says the QMC wants a ‘purpose-built trauma centre’ to provide treatment to a range of injuries.
She said: “The centre would have all the emergency department facilities and it would include an urgent care centre.
“It would also have assessment beds and it would have critical care and updated theatres.
“We’ve made some changes but the bottom line is it’s not enough to meet the demand now or in the future.
“It is critical that we have an Emergency Department, critical care and theatre facilities that are fit for purpose.
“Many of our specialised services, including major trauma, will grow year on year.
“Looking to the future, we have to ensure our estate and the supporting infrastructure is modernised and meets the demand on our services.”
The trust’s overall Care Quality Commission inspection rating remains ‘good’.
