Member Article

Work starts on new £35m Liverpool Trauma Unit

The construction of a £35m Urgent Care and Trauma centre at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool has officially started.

Staff from the hospital joined VIP guests as Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, and Steve Rotheram, Walton MP, laid two foundation stones.

The project will transform the hospital’s emergency and urgent care services, creating the most modern Emergency Department in the region and offering state-of-the-art facilities for patients. Around 85,000 patients are treated at Aintree’s Emergency Department every year, and the hospital, along with the Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Walton Centre, forms the Cheshire and Merseyside Major Trauma Centre Collaborative.

Catherine Beardshaw, Chief Executive, said: “This is the start of a very ambitious project to ensure that we are offering world class facilities which match the care our staff provide for the most seriously ill patients. This is a major investment in Aintree Hospital and we’re very pleased to launch this with such a special ceremony.”

Steve Rotheram MP said: “I started off as a bricklayer, so I was going back to my roots today! I’ve visited the A&E department at Aintree on many occasions, and while the commitment of staff is first class, the unit was showing its age. It’s great to know that we’re creating a state-of-the-art specialist centre which will give 21st Century care to urgent care and trauma patients.”

Joe Anderson, Liverpool Mayor, said: “The construction of this excellent facility is great news not just for patients and staff at Aintree, but for small and medium-sized businesses across the city region. The project will create more than 1,000 job opportunities, and there has been a big response from locally-based businesses. Major organisations such as Aintree Trust can make a real difference in supporting the city region’s development, not just by improving healthcare but improving our economic health.”

The contract to build the Urgent Care and Trauma Centre was won by BAM Construction Limited.

The new development, which will be fully completed by 2016, includes a new two-storey building for the Emergency Department, and Critical Care unit, plus a Fracture Clinic. The centre has a spacious, modern design, with comfortable waiting areas. The Emergency Department will also have more diagnostic equipment to help provide swifter treatment to the most seriously ill patients. Services at the hospital will continue throughout the building programme.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .