Nightingale wards and world-class training centre for new hospital?

Lyndon Farham at Overdale Hospital Picture: DAVID FERGUSON

The guide, known as the functional brief, was put together following more than 60 meetings and workshops across the Health and Community Service workforce, including senior clinicians, doctors and nurse representatives.

The document will shape the look and feel of Jersey’s new hospital which is to be built at Overdale. Proposals include the flexibility to move internal walls and create emergency Nightingale-style wards, a staff wellbeing centre, individual en-suite patient rooms for more than 75% of patients, 264 in-patient beds with a further 128 treatment beds, and a ‘world-class knowledge and training centre’. According to the document, the hospital will also have a new mental-health department with two wards. The integrated mental-health service is in line with the Jersey Care Model and exemplifies best practice, the guide says.

The government said the design reflected the clinical requirements of the Island’s population and would continue to evolve through regular clinical engagement. The potential for further optimisation, based on lessons learned from Covid-19, was also included within the brief.

Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham, chairman of the Our Hospital Political Oversight Group, said: ‘It has been essential throughout this project to work closely with our clinical and frontline healthcare staff and I want to thank them for their valuable input into this important document, which will allow our delivery partner to begin important work of designing our new hospital.’

Westmount Road was approved by the States as the preferred access route for the hospital project last Monday despite opposition from residents, who have lodged a requête – an ancient legal device which enables parishioners to demand that a
parish assembly is held – to debate the purchase of parish land in
relation to the scheme.

Ministers were criticised during last Monday’s debate over the way communication about the project had been handled, with Senator Farnham pledging at the time that more would be done in future. Concerns were also raised during the debate at the lack of detailed plans of the hospital proposals.

The functional brief also makes an initial assessment of the likely accommodation required and the way this accommodation will be arranged.

Medical director Patrick Armstrong said: ‘The primary objective of this functional brief is to initialise the design process undertaken by the delivery partner. It will enable the design team to start the process of design and understand, in more detail, the specification of the clinical viewpoint of the Our Hospital built environment.’

Our Hospital clinical director Ashok Handa said: ‘This brief will inform a Functional Area Assessment, which represents a high-level estimate of the potential area required for a new hospital and is being developed by the Our Hospital Clinical Leadership Team and Clinical teams.’

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