BMI The Blackheath Hospital has unveiled plans for the first phase of a £3.8m investment programme that will modernise the theatre department and upgrade critical care provision.
The investment, which is being made in two phases by the hospital’s parent company, BMI Healthcare, will improve facilities for consultants and clinical teams, while also increasing the level of complex care and procedures available to patients at the hospital in south London.
The investment being made over the next 18 months will dramatically improve both the facilities in which my team works along with the care we are able to provide to our patients
Phase one, which began in September, will last eight months and deliver a new theatre department with a six-bed recovery unit, nursing station and upgrades to the hospital’s three theatres. The development will also improve the theatre department’s staff areas, including offices, changing rooms, corridors and a rest room. Behind the scenes the infrastructure and support for the air handling units, which filters air coming into the operating theatres; and the medical gas infrastructure will be upgraded. Two of the hospital’s specialist orthopaedic theatres, which have air supplied through an ultra-clean ventilation (UCV) system, will also be improved to enhance the care of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery.
Peter Harris, executive director at BMI The Blackheath Hospital, said: “With phase one of the major upgrade works well underway we are excited to share our plans for the future of our hospital. Next year BMI The Blackheath Hospital will celebrate its 30th anniversary and this investment will enhance the level of complexity, clinical expertise and quality of care we are able to provide to our patients and our local community.
“Our commitment to operational excellence and patient care will ensure that any impact made during the works is kept to the absolute minimum.”
Work is expected to be completed by next May.
Planning for phase two of the project, which will upgrade the hospital’s high dependency unit (HDU) to a level three intensive treatment unit (ITU) and deliver a new interventional radiology department, will begin next summer.
Speaking about the plans, Hazel Dinnie, the hospital’s theatre manager, said: “The investment being made into BMI The Blackheath Hospital over the next 18 months will dramatically improve both the facilities in which my team works along with the care we are able to provide to our patients.
Next year BMI The Blackheath Hospital will celebrate its 30th anniversary and this investment will enhance the level of complexity, clinical expertise and quality of care we are able to provide to our patients and our local community
“Working in a theatre environment, we as healthcare professionals deal with patients when they are at their most vulnerable and the environment in which we work plays a major role in patient care. This new development and investment highlights the commitment being made to our patients at BMI The Blackheath Hospital and we are extremely excited for the future of the hospital.”
To ensure the continuity of service and to maintain operation during the works to upgrade and improve the theatre department, the contractors will focus their attention in segmented areas and work behind specially-erected screens to minimise noise and prevent contamination. Any work carried out in the common areas of the theatre department will be done out of hours or at the weekend.
