Rachel said: “I’m surprised that this hasn’t received wider coverage, which is why I’m telling everyone about it. It’s extremely good news for patients here. I’ve campaigned for the Trust to be able to access part of the money so there isn’t any further delay to work starting, so this is indeed a good day for the people of Redditch.”
The bridge will alleviate pressure faced during the winter months by allowing staff to move beds between the two buildings, and will make it much easier and quicker to move patients from one part of the Worcester site to another, helping to improve flow and making a significant contribution to planning for next winter.
Rachel added: “I don’t want to see patients waiting on trolleys or in ambulances because they cannot be admitted into the hospital or A&E. And that has largely been because of the pressure on discharge beds from the emergency treatment areas of the hospital. Making flow through the hospital more efficient means frontline services will have more capacity to treat more patients. As Redditch patients are treated in Worcester, this will see a great improvement for us.
“As a local resident myself, and a user of the NHS for me and my family, I want better services for us all and I won’t rest until all this funding is delivered, and the improvement program complete. And I won’t stop fighting for our Trust to be the best it can be – we’ve been let down in the past for far too long.
“Moreover, funding for the bridge is part of the £29.6 million capital funding application by the Trust which will see improvement works at both hospitals, so the fact this money has been released early is a down-payment guarantee the rest will follow.”