PERSHORE’s MP was among those on hand to open a new £3million link bridge at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital (WRH) which is set to increase bed capacity and ease waiting times.
The bridge connects the main hospital with the new 28-bed Aconbury ward and Harriett Baldwin and Worcester MP Robin Walker were joined by Redditch MP Rachel Maclean MP, Mark Garnier MP (Wyre Forest) and Sajid Javid MP (Bromsgrove) to meet with ward staff and the acute trust’s new CEO Matthew Hopkins .
The funding for the bridge is part of a £29.6million capital funding pot secured by the Worcestershire Acute Trust to increase bed capacity, improve waiting times and expand parking facilities. The bridge will alleviate pressure for patients and hospital staff during the busy winter months, and improve the overall efficiency of the Royal.
The opening of the bridge and the ward are part of a series of planned improvements to ease the winter pressure for Worcestershire hospitals.
Speaking outside the Worcestershire Royal, Mrs Baldwin said: “We are right in the middle of the winter peak and we all hope that this is the first step towards helping the hospital coping better with the inevitable extra demand.
“The new management team has an important task ahead completing this improvement work and supporting our highly-valued doctors and nurses to keep doing an amazing job.”
