New military ward to be created at Birmingham Hospital

[SO19]

New military ward to be created at Birmingham Hospital
A Defence Policy and Business news article

4 Jul 08

Plans for a new trauma and orthopaedics ward for the treatment of injured Service personnel have been announced by the MOD and University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust today, Friday 4 July 2008.



The new ward will be part of a new hospital being built in Edgbaston which will have the largest single-floor critical care unit in the world consisting of 100 beds, and means the Armed Forces will continue to benefit from Europe's leading trauma care provider.

The military ward will see Service personnel cared for in single rooms or four-bedded bays. The ward will have additional features for the exclusive use of military patients.

It will have more staff than a normal NHS ward, a quiet room for relatives and a communal space for military patients to gather. A dedicated physiotherapy area will also be provided close to the ward for military patients.

The ward will start taking patients when the new hospital opens in 2010.

Announcing the plans for the new ward, Under Secretary of State for Defence, Derek Twigg, said:

"The new hospital will offer outstanding facilities for military patients. Working in partnership with University Hospital, we already provide first-class medical treatment and care for our Service patients. The military ward in Birmingham's new hospital further demonstrates our commitment to providing the best possible care for military casualties. We will build on the success of the current ward at Selly Oak as we move to the new hospital at Edgbaston."

Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, said:

"Service personnel who are injured on operations deserve the very best medical care we can provide. I am confident that the treatment delivered at Selly Oak is already world class and we will continue to improve on that in this new ward.

"Importantly, the further development of a military atmosphere within the NHS hospital will ensure that our people are cared for in an environment that is conducive to their recovery and well-being. All of this amongst the most modern facilities of their kind in Europe, and all under the continuing care of the joint NHS and military staff of the Birmingham Hospitals. I am very grateful to the staff for their dedication and professionalism."

The new ward will allow for up to 30 patients to be cared for in single rooms or four-bed rooms although experience from the existing military-managed ward at Selly Oak Hospital, also in Birmingham, shows that the actual number of military patients at any time will be much lower.

As at Selly Oak, military patients will be brought together on the new military ward as soon as clinically appropriate, once their specialist or acute care requirements have been met.

And as was the case in the old military hospitals, civilian patients will also be admitted to the ward when capacity allows, but the flexible design of the new hospital means that, with the exception of major civilian emergencies requiring all available bed spaces, it will always be possible to care for military patients in single rooms or ward rooms that are not shared with civilian patients.

The intention is to provide more nursing staff - a combined team of military and civilian nurses - than normally found on an NHS ward, both to boost the military ethos of the ward and to reflect the fact that military casualties may have complex needs and may remain for longer periods in hospital, owing to the mechanics of injury and the nature of military service.

Julie Moore, Chief Executive, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"We are very proud of our relationship with the MOD and the progress that has been made in delivering the best in care to all of the 520,000 patients we treat each year - military and civilian. The new hospital will give us a technologically-advanced environment in which to offer the world-class clinical expertise needed to treat the highly complex conflict injuries - all under one roof."

Since 2001, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM), based at the Selly Oak Hospital, has been the principal receiving unit for casualties returning from operational theatres such as Afghanistan and Iraq. In the Birmingham area, military patients can benefit from the concentration of five specialist hospitals to receive a very high standard of treatment and nursing care. Selly Oak is at the leading edge in the medical care of the most common types of injuries, such as polytrauma, that military casualties sustain.

Over the past couple of years, the MOD has been developing, in close consultation with the Birmingham Hospital Trust, a military-managed ward at Selly Oak. By last summer, military nursing numbers on the ward had increased from 12 to a total of 39, and part of the ward was partitioned off for military patients.

As well as providing first class care to casualties, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has provided the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine with access to the facilities and training of a major trauma Trust hospital. Such access has ensured that our personnel have the necessary clinical skills to deliver medical care on deployed operations.

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Templ ... 20Hospital

[dudieezper]

The new military ward would surely offer outstanding facilities and care for military patients. The hospital will be named after Queen Elizabeth and the building is already visible all over the place. I heard it is scheduled to open some phase this year. Great Job! Angioplasty

[got1]

Great idea, has it happened?

[Beast]

As far as im aware, no new news on these developments.
But i could be wrong.