We are working to ensure that children on the Isle of Wight are supported to get the best start in life that will lead to good health and wellbeing. This will provide the foundation to ensure they are able to achieve the best opportunities and keep as healthy and well as possible throughout their lives.
We want to ensure that families, individuals and communities are thriving and resilient with access to good jobs, affordable housing, leisure activities, lifelong training, education and learning, health and care services are are able to enjoy the place in which they live.
We want to ensure that people on the Isle of Wight are able to live independently in their own homes with appropriate care support. We want to make sure older residents are supported to play an active role in their communities and supported to maintain and develop their social and community networks.
Significant progress has being made across our multi-million pound Investing in Our Future programme since work started earlier this year.
The new community and mental health hub, previously the old HMV building in Newport High Street, looks unrecognisable. With a new roof, sky lights and windows installed the new hub is starting to take shape. New stud walls and ceilings mean the clinical rooms and staff offices are also coming to life. The café space and lift shafts are well underway. The hub is on track to open in Spring 2024 and will bring a wealth of benefits including joined up services to improve continuity of care and improved accessibility to the local community.
The ground and foundation work has now been completed for the intensive care unit extension at St Mary’s Hospital and the new steel structure to support the extension is in place, interior works are also pressing ahead. The major refurbishment and expansion of our Intensive Care Unit will see the unit increasing from six to eight beds and the addition of a separate six bedded Enhanced Care Unit to ensure that patients are cared for in the most clinically appropriate setting.
The new emergency care floor, which is in its first phase of a series of planned works, is also on plan to be delivered in Spring 2024. The new extension is progressing well with a weatherproof structure now in place and internal works progressing at pace with a new waiting room area and resus area. The extensive refurbishment and expansion of our emergency services. Co-locating our existing emergency department, urgent treatment centre and short stay facilities with the addition of a new frailty unit. A separate, dedicated emergency entrance will improve access for patients.
Chief Officer, Joe Smyth said: “We are pleased with the progress that has been made so far, once completed our community will benefit from significant improvements to the quality of care that we provide.We are looking forward to opening the new acute ward and ICU later this year.”
The acute ward at St Mary’s Hospital is expected to open in Autumn 2023. Internal decor works are currently underway and the ward will allow the fracture clinic to move to the north hospital making way for the expanded emergency floor and Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) facilities.
Ward staff have also been able to look at the new space that will accommodate the new 18-bed acute ward will see the reconfiguration of our acute beds across St Mary’s Hospital.
After completing a tour of the new space, ward sister Mandy Webb said: “It is incredible to see how much the space has been transformed so far. The rooms and space that we will have to care for patients are taking shape. We were able to get a real sense of the environment and can’t wait to see the final results.”
Derek Jackson, Contracts manager for Kier Construction said: “The last couple of months has seen a significant transformation to hospital estate with the forming of the new extensions as well the internal fit out works with the new floor plans taking shape ensuring the high standards of quality and safety are being maintained through to completion and without compromising the operation of the Hospital”
More information about our Investing in Our Future programme and the benefits the funding will bring can be found on our dedicated website: www.investfuture.iow.nhs.uk
