Plans have been unveiled for a major new emergency ward at Frimley Park Hospital as the unit steels itself to cope with a growing number of winter admissions.
Ward space at Frimley Park is said to have reached saturation point, sparking plans for a new 34-bed emergency support ward, the details of which came to light this week.
The hospital, in Portsmouth Road, is seeking planning permission from Surrey Heath Borough Council to push ahead with development of the new ward.
It says it is needed to meet the demand expected during the winter months.
With a catchment area spanning regions of Surrey, Hampshire and east Berkshire – and up to 400,000 potential patients – plans lodged with the council suggest the hospital is already experiencing signs of increased pressure on services.
“There has been year-on-year growth in activity in all areas; emergency, elective, outpatients and diagnostics,” read the trust’s statement of need, handed to the council. “Local plans show some growth in the population and the general demographic shows an ageing population on the whole which requires additional care.”
The application was formally registered with the borough council on August 30 with public consultation due to run until October 2. A target decision date has been tentatively set for October 25.
Documents drawn up by planning consultancy Vail Williams LLP on behalf of the hospital describe the development as an essential addition to the Frimley Park Hospital site.
The building will create 884sq/m of new ward space, split over two storeys with 17 beds per storey.
Other new facilities include a kitchen, bathroom and toilet, as well as office, utility and storage space.
New beds will be set aside specifically for elderly care, extending Frimley Park’s specialist elderly care wards and mitigating a predicted surge in admissions.
Frimley Park has around 750 beds but during 2012-13, saw a 5% increase in GP referrals, swelling inpatient and outpatient waiting lists.
During the same period, the hospital also experienced a 6.5% increase in emergency medical admissions - around 1,800.
“While the hospital is constantly working to maximise bed spaces, it has been decided the trust will require additional bed space over and above that available to respond to the increased pressure the trust is experiencing,” read the plans.“A number of additional beds have been created by refurbishment and reconfiguration, but we’ve reached saturation of bed capacity in the existing footprint.”
The ward will run along the north-eastern side of the existing main hospital building, measuring 58 metres in length, eight metres in width and 7.65 metres in height.
Since 2005, the hospital has sought planning permission for a string of temporary additions to the hospital site, including asking for an operating theatre, an observation ward and an MRI scanning unit.
In Surrey, data from the 2011 census showed a sizeable increase in the number of elderly people living in the county compared against the 2001 census.
It was up across all age ranges – 60-64 went up 35% to 69,400 and the 90-plus went up 32.9% to 10,900.
Of Surrey’s 11 districts and boroughs, Surrey Heath – home to Frimley Park – saw the greatest increase in the number of people aged 65 or older, up 31.8% from 11,000 in 2001 to 14,500 in 2011.
