Emergency Department - UHD Charity

Help us enhance the wellbeing of every patient coming through our future Emergency Department doors

The BEACH building will serve 150,000 patients each year who will have quicker access to treatment from improved patient flow and a better experience due to our new Emergency Department, designed and planned by our very own healthcare professionals.

The new Emergency Department alone will be 4,300 sq.metres – which is roughly twice the size of both the existing Emergency Departments at Poole and Royal Bournemouth put together. This means that the bigger emergency department will help 72,000 of us who need care as quickly as possible.

It will contain an integrated radiology hub, enabling patients to be scanned on their arrival to ED, rather than waiting for a transfer to the Radiology Department. This will enable faster patient treatment and care.

This is why we are raising funds for an additional CT scanner to help enable our NHS colleagues to scan an extra 15,000 patients each year.

We are also raising funds to kit-out four specially designed rooms in the new Emergency Department to help patients needing extra support with their mental health.

Our hospitals currently see an average of 5,000 patients presenting with a mental health crisis per year. We’re aiming to raise £8,696 to enhance four specially designed rooms with comfortable sofas and chairs and commissioned artwork to create a sense of tranquillity.

This is especially important as research highlights the profound impact that aesthetically pleasing, and thoughtfully designed spaces can have on the mental wellbeing of patients.

Patients presenting in mental health crisis may come to us as a last resort, or at the start of their illness. The Emergency Department is often a busy environment and can appear to be chaotic and distressing to those suffering from a crisis. Patients that need additional support are referred to our mental health practitioners, who assess the patients holistically to help them towards recovery. Mental health assessments and treatment requires time and an appropriate environment. This funding will help provide equipment and furniture for a more therapeutic assessment space.

Lou Emeny-Senior Liaison Psychiatry Team Manager

Creating an emergency department for the needs of children

We’re also raising funds to make coming into hospital a more welcoming environment for children by installing wall-mounted games, interactive screens and engaging toys to keep them occupied while they are waiting to be treated. Alongside these items will be colourful vinyl floors and ceiling panels to create a welcoming environment for our youngest patients.

These extras are above and beyond the funds covered by the NHS but will make the patient experience that much easier for parents and children. There will be sensory spaces and a music box and much better facilities for new parents.

The importance of getting the design of the children’s emergency department right cannot be overstated. Nobody plans to attend the emergency department and can often face anxious waiting times whilst the child is cared for. The requested design for the new department will aid the child’s and families experience through calming play equipment and visual distractions. The design is aimed to aid children of all ages and has been carefully chosen following site visits to leading children’s departments and engagement from local schools.

Georgina Bianchi, ED Matron

Will you help us raise funds to enhance these spaces for children or those with additional mental health needs? If so, please donate below.