Work starts on A&E and special baby unit

WORK on a new emergency department and an intensive and special care baby unit for the south-east has started at Waterford Regional Hospital.

The facilities are expected to be completed over a two-year period. They will open on a phased basis to allow existing services continue, according to the HSE.

The emergency department will be supported by a minor injuries unit, a six-bed medical assessment unit and a 29-bed acute medical unit to fast-track access for acutely-ill patients.

“This is very good news for the more than 61,000 patients who attend the A&E each year. The new emergency department will provide a larger, more comfortable environment,” WRH clinical director Dr Rob Landers said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the intensive and special care baby unit is aimed at parents of babies born very prematurely – from 28 weeks in the pregnancy – and for seriously-ill babies. It will replace the existing unit which services counties Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and south Tipperary.

The development will have three floors and will accommodate the regional intensive and special care baby unit within WRH.

Having previously received planning permission for a development featuring an expansion to the hospital’s emergency department, the HSE successfully submitted a revised application in 2009 to Waterford City Council, for a second floor to accommodate further medical treatment facilities.

HSE South regional director of operations Pat Healy said that while WRH currently meets the HSE national targets for patients to be seen in the emergency department within six hours, “the new building will mean a better environment and a better experience for both patients and staff”.

Hospital network manager for the south-east, Richard Dooley, said the current emergency department will continue to function during the two-year construction period. “Building works will be completed in a number of separate phases, in order to allow existing services to continue.”

Patients and the general public will be updated on arrangements during the construction works.