Planned care resumes at re-branded hospital sites

WARRINGTON and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has recommenced its planned care programme at its dedicated elective site at Runcorn.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Treatment Centre – a high quality hospital building – has been deemed ‘COVID-secure’ and from here planned care is being restored for patients across a wide range of services.
The number of beds has increased to 44 and the average length of stay is expected to be approximately 24 hours.
Cancer and urgent surgeries have been continuing at Warrington Hospital during the pandemic but now trauma and orthopaedic, breast surgery and ambulatory trauma services have all been reinstated from the “COVID-secure building”.
In the coming weeks urology surgery will commence here and the creation of a ‘PACU’ Anaesthetic Care Unit will enable more “high risk” patients to have their surgeries at the elective centre. Endoscopy has already recommenced at Halton General, with the chemotherapy centre and planned investigations units all re-opened.
To minimise any possible risk of COVID-19 infection all patients will be fully screened ahead of attending for their procedures and the wearing of face coverings/hand sanitising/social distancing/visiting restrictions will be in place according to the current government guidance.
At the same time, the Trust has decided to rebrand the Halton Hospital site
The Cheshire and Merseyside Treatment Centre is to be re-named the Captain Sir Tom Moore Building” honouring the centenarian who raised over £30m for NHS charities during the pandemic. The General Hospital building will be known as the “Nightingale Building” in honour of the world’s most famous nurse who celebrates a bicentennial anniversary in 2020 – the WHO Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
The names were selected by the Trust’s staff in an online poll, with Captain Tom and Florence emerging as the most popular choice. The Captain Tom Foundation was approached for permission and their spokesperson said: “The family have been truly humbled by the gratitude and love they have received from far and wide and it is particularly heartening to hear how the funds are being used and that they are going to such good causes. Captain Tom would be delighted for you to name the CMTC building after him, he is extremely flattered that your staff suggested it.”
The Trust has worked closely with partners in primary, community and social care throughout the pandemic with long stay patients ( those with a length of stay of 21 days) falling to an all-time low of 40 before settling at around 60 patients. This is a reduction of over 50 per cent from the worst days in the Trust’s year and provides a significantly enhanced experience for patients through this integrated working.