In early 2020, following a visit to Bassetlaw Hospital from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, £17.6m was announced in support of a proposal by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (DBTH) to create an Emergency Village at Bassetlaw Hospital.
The development of modern urgent and emergency care service will meet the needs of the communities of Bassetlaw, now and for years to come. The development will increase the size of the Emergency Department (ED) and provide more accessible same day services, so we can get patients to where they need to be to receive the best care more quickly.
Work to date
Development work on the Emergency Village project commenced in 2021. An established project team, includes Programme Directors (a shared role) Anna Fawcett and Chris Turner from Archus (healthcare infrastructure experts) and Programme Manager Lesley McKay from DBTH.
Meetings have been established and all relevant clinical teams have been invited to discuss space and clinical requirements for the new build urgent and emergency care requirements. This also includes meeting with clinical colleagues at partner organisations.
A comprehensive consultation surrounding the future paediatric model took place with staff, patients, partners and the Bassetlaw community. 1,893 people responded to the consultation.
85% of respondents indicated that their preference was building a new Children’s Assessment Unit next to the emergency department, allowing children to stay at Bassetlaw Hospital for a short stay, including overnight (patients requiring a longer length of stay will continue to be transferred to Doncaster Royal Infirmary).
Respondents were asked to consider which factors would be most important in the development of the new Emergency Village. Within the survey findings, the top three priorities were: timely access to clinical treatment (82%), the availability of staff to help with queries (71%), and comfortable surroundings which are inclusive of neurodiversity (55%).
Lots of work is currently ongoing to work through the national business case approval process. As part of the business case the architects and planners have included all if the clinical and service user feedback into the proposed design.
Building works
Due to begin approximately late 2022 or early 2023, the new build part of the Emergency Village development at the front of Bassetlaw Hospital will be substantial, taking up most of the space currently occupied by the pay and display car park at the front of the hospital. Building work will also take place on the building which has historically provided mental health care.
Some enabling works on the existing buildings will begin this year ahead of the main build. This will involve some disruption as large cranes will be required.
Whilst the investment is exciting and extremely positive for the Bassetlaw community we know that such building works can be disruptive and unsettling for staff, patients and public attending the hospital during this time. We have developed a comprehensive communication and engagement plan in order to keep people updated in a timely manner regarding developments which may cause unintended disruptions.
Enabling works (current phase)
The main hospital building at Bassetlaw Hospital dates back to 1976, with blocks 47 and 43 (Mental health facilities and theatres respectively) built using what is known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RACC).
Considered a revolutionary new building material at the time, RAAC is now outdated, and newer construction materials offer more longevity and durability, as well as having lower maintenance cost. Whilst there is no immediate risk to the buildings, colleagues at the Trust are taking proactive action to remove the material before any potential issues arise.
A RAAC replacement programme has been launched by NHS England/Improvement with the aim to remove the material from all hospital buildings by 2035, and as such the Trust has received funding to remove all related panels from Bassetlaw Hospital and replace them with a new modern roof.
This maintenance works will require theatres to be relocated into three temporary modular theatres which are placed into an existing car park outside Clinical Therapies with a link corridor into the main building which will allow our Theatre services to remain fully operational during the maintenance period.
To access the roofs, the construction team will take over the visitor car park at the front of the main entrance. This will involve an alteration to the ambulance entrance/exit at the front of the hospital. A patient ‘drop off’ area is being created in the visitor car park adjacent to the consultant parking to allow for patient drop-off in close proximity to Emergency Department front door.
The construction team will also be installing new temporary signage to ensure that visitors and staff are directed to the new locations. A new car park is being constructed prior at the north of the hospital site which is to compensate for the loss of visitors parking at the main entrance. New accessible parking has been created from existing parking bays outside of Clinical therapies and the maternity entrance.
The Emergency Department, East Midlands Ambulance Service have participated in the development logistics plan. The project team has also engaged significantly with the Estates, compliance and parking and fire officers within the Trust to ensure minimal impact to visitors and patients. Nonetheless some disturbance is unavoidable, so we thank you for your patience as we carry out this work. The work is due to be completed by March 2023.
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