Warrington Hospital’s new £6.25 million intensive care unit has opened to its first patients. Equipped with 16 critical care beds, it increases the hospital’s capacity for caring for critically ill patients from across the Warrington and Halton areas.
It is described by the Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as “a major and long-awaited development”, as intensive care beds have previously been split across three areas of the hospital in converted accommodation. The “light, airy” new unit brings the facilities together in one purpose-built area, initially increasing the hospital’s critical care beds from 14 to 16, with room to expand to over 20. Housing a new family and waiting room, counselling rooms and staff areas, and incorporating the latest critical care equipment and central monitoring, it is specifically designed and equipped to help protect seriously ill patients from healthcare-associated infections, also featuring two isolation cubicles with negative/positive air pressure. The facility is located in the hospital’s Burtonwood Wing, with the area it occupies completely redesigned and rebuilt as part of the project. Main contractors were Norwest Holst.
