Publish date: 27 September 2024
The opening of Tameside Hospital’s new £20 million Emergency Department has been officially marked with a ceremony on Thursday 26 September.
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (TGICFT) staff were joined by several special guests to celebrate the occasion following the conclusion of construction earlier in the summer.
Those in attendance included Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham; Deputy Prime Minister & MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, Angela Rayner; Secretary of State for Business and Trade & MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, Jonathan Reynolds; MP for High Peak, Jon Pearce; and Deputy Lord Lieutenant Wing Cdr Dave Archibald DL RAFAC as the King’s representative.
The Trust worked with Integrated Health Projects (the joint venture between VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine) to deliver the project.
The event took place a little over two years since the commencement of building work, during which time the Trust has maintained all urgent and emergency care services. Funding was announced in 2019 as part of the Prime Minister’s capital spend programme for the NHS.
The benefits of the redeveloped department include brand new waiting areas for patients, better access for blue light vehicles and upgraded facilities to meet the demands of modern day healthcare.
Staff are also benefitting from much improved working and rest facilities, allowing them to fully focus on continuing to deliver outstanding patient care.
The Emergency Department has seen a significant growth in attendance since first opening in 1992, which resulted in overcrowding and assessment of patients in unsuitable areas.
Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a time capsule was buried on-site with items representing modern day trends chosen by pupils from Inspire Academy. It contains original and new plans of the department, as well as popular culture items, coins, pictures of the redevelopment and the front page of the local and a national newspaper of the day.
Richie Campbell, born six years ago in the old department’s car park in dramatic circumstances, also attended with his family to be reunited with Dr Hyder Qureshi, the doctor who saved his life.
Chief Executive at TGICFT, Karen James OBE, said: “Our redeveloped department provides much needed additional capacity and is more suitable environment for patients who require urgent and emergency care.
“The enhanced design and reorganisation will ensure much better flow through the hospital and allows our teams to communicate much more effectively, which will positively impact on our waiting times.
“This has been a true multi-agency effort and I would like to thank all of the partners involved, including our construction partners, IHP, for their tireless work.
“I pay particular tribute to staff across many of our departments who have maintained services during a period of significant disruption. Their flexibility and patience has been pivotal to the success of the project.
“We hope when the time capsule is opened many years from now, people will see just how ground-breaking this new facility is in the context of our lives in 2024.”
Garry Bowker, Regional Managing Director at Integrated Health Projects (IHP), said: “We are delighted to have been involved in delivering this key project which now provides improved facilities, an enhanced patient environment and a safer, more efficient working environment for key clinical teams.
“Our Project Team encountered many challenges throughout construction, working within a very restrictive environment beside day-to-day hospital activities, while ensuring critical ambulance drop off areas and pedestrian routes remained fully operational throughout. Seeing the Emergency Department in operation has made our team very proud in assisting the Trust to achieve this.
We certainly believe that what has been delivered matches Tameside and Glossop ICFT’s aspiration to create a class-leading Emergency Care Department for Tameside and its growing population”.
