Chesterfield Royal Hospital provides update on multi-million pound development

The £24million project will create a new urgent and emergency care department at the front of the hospital where an existing staff car park is sited, bringing a host of services together.

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Royal bosses say some preparatory work will start from the middle of June.

This will include work to gas, water and electricity supplies, some mobile patient services will move locations, temporary entrances will be created and roadway diversions will be in place.

Berenice Groves, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at the Royal, said: “After a year or more responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are really pleased to get this development underway – it’s a real boost for everyone.

“It’s the biggest change to urgent and emergency care services we’ve seen since the hospital opened its doors to accident and emergency services in 1984.

“It goes without saying that a project on this scale will mean some noise, disruption and inconvenience, which our building team are overseeing and limiting through a series of meticulously planned phases.

“They’ll be making sure that diversions are in place and alternative routes are clearly marked out.

“What’s positive about a brand new build option, though, is that existing clinical services inside the hospital are not affected and will continue to run as they would usually.

“The whole project will make such a difference to more than 400,000 north Derbyshire residents in terms of the urgent and emergency care provisions we offer.”

Expected to open in spring or summer 2023, the department will provide designated zones to care for children and those with a mental health need, as well as having the capacity to provide immediate support from other health professionals, including therapists, voluntary and social services.

There will also be improved access to nearby X-ray and imaging services to reduce the length of time patients spend in the department.

The project will also include building a new paediatric assessment unit alongside the Royal’s Nightingale children’s unit.

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