Pembrokeshire is to get a new state-of-the-art £8.75m Emergency and Unscheduled Care Centre at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest. The new centre will be one of the first of its type in Wales to fully combine emergency and unscheduled care services, including social services, into one facility and, once operational, will put Pembrokeshire at the cutting edge of A&E services across the principality. Said the chief executive of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust, Keith Thomson: "This is fantastic news for Pembrokeshire at a time of great change in health care services across Wales. It means Pembrokeshire people will be the first to benefit from a fully integrated emergency and unscheduled care facility that is at the forefront of modern A&E services across the country. This type of service is absolutely vital to ensure better patient care in Pembrokeshire." The new centre, comprising part refurbishment of the current building and adjacent new build, will include: • An Emergency Care Centre capable of treating 50,000 patients every year. • A 20-station Clinical Decision Unit with five treatment rooms giving immediate access to primary medical and surgical assessment, treatment and care. • The co-location of key Out of Hours services, including GPs and District Nursing, enabling fast access to care across 24 hours, seven days a week. • On-site Social Assessment, Care Management, Rapid Response and Re-ablement services ensuring seamless access and progression to secondary care. It will more than quadruple the size of the current A&E facility which has seen an increase in attendance of over 40 per cent in the last five years with another 14 per cent increase projected up to 2008, not including 10,000 Out of Hours attendances. It will also be the first centre to fully integrate primary and secondary care services enabling patients to receive home care wherever possible and give fast, easy access to care providers where necessary. A robust triage system will direct patients to home care, social care or hospital care which, in turn, will reduce hospital admissions and patient waiting times, relieve pressure on acute hospitals and reduce duplication across services. The development is part of an ongoing programme that will allow emergency services to modernise rapidly, in keeping with the 10-15 year plan for healthcare in Wales 'Designed for Life'. It has been developed over 12 months by an A&E Reconfiguration Team, chaired by the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust in collaboration with Pembrokeshire Local Health Board, Pembrokeshire County Council, Welsh Ambulance Trust, Pembrokeshire Community Health Council and Welsh Health Estates. Said Pembrokeshire Local Health Board chief executive Bernardine Rees: "We are thrilled with the confirmation that the full business case has been approved. This gives huge momentum to the modernisation of services for the people of Pembrokeshire. It is also a testimony to the partnership working across all agencies and demonstrates the commitment to the development of clinical safe and sustainable services for the county." Said the chief executive of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust, Keith Thomson: "The project team has worked diligently on the business case for this new £8.75m Emergency and Unscheduled Care Centre for more than 12 months as part of the modernisation programme. The new centre will put Pembrokeshire on the map in terms of quality A&E services in Wales."
