A London hospital will almost double its space for critically ill patients as a result of a £1.8 billion nationwide investment announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Croydon hospital is one of 20 hospitals to share in £850 million to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment and tackle a NHS-wide five per cent annual increase in patients.
A total of £17 million is also being provided to build a “health and wellbeing hub”. Croydon hospital chiefs said the “much needed” £12.7 million investment would enable its critical care unit, opened in 1984, to be rebuilt with 24 intensive treatment and high-dependency beds.
This will reduce the number of life-threatened patients having to be transferred to hospitals out of the borough and should help the hospital retain skilled staff.
The unit will temporarily relocate elsewhere in the hospital while the modernisation is completed.
The hospital currently has eight intensive treatment beds and seven high-dependency beds. It hopes to open the new unit in 2021. It follows a £21 million A&E rebuild that was opened by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in May.
Mr Johnson said: “Following its successful A&E refurbishment, Croydon University Hospital will now benefit from bigger and better care units.”
Hospital chief executive Matthew Kershaw said: “By redeveloping our intensive treatment and high-dependency units, we can ensure our patients receive the care they need.”
Barking, Havering and Redbridge clinical commissioning groups and North East London NHS Foundation Trust received £17 million to develop a health and wellbeing hub in Hornchurch.
With the area’s population set to increase by 15,000 in the next 10 years, the hub will include a centre of excellence to keep the elderly active, plus outpatient clinics and GP services.
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The £1.8 billion includes £1 billion for major infrastructure projects. NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said it was a “significant start” to providing modern facilities and equipment. But Sally Gainsbury, senior policy analyst at The Nuffield Trust, said the £1 billion had already been given to hospitals — but they had been banned from spending it. “They earned it last year in incentive payments for cutting their costs,” she said.
Mr Hancock today told Good Morning Britain that he could “guarantee” the NHS was ready to cope with a no-deal Brexit.
He said: “I can guarantee we have plans in place to make sure the NHS runs as effectively as it does today through any Brexit scenario.”