MCH theatre and DSU redevelopment

WHILE predicted timelines for the Theatre and Day Surgery redevelopment at Mersey Community Hospital have run behind schedule, things now seem to be ramping up.

Plans are being made in preparation for the stage where builders 'bust through the wall' and major disruptions occur. Based on progressions, we can now expect tender to go out in September 2021 and commencement likely to be around December. Initial stages will affect the current Day Procedure Unit and the ground level directly below. This will mean vacating the entire block, including the foyer and relocation of offices in the foyer area while DPU is relocated. The final phase of construction will be the theatre area, and will begin affecting theatres and operational capacity around January or February 2022. The intention is to continue the use of 3 theatres – endoscopy, theatre and theatre/endoscopy combined, up until this stage. During the redevelopment of the theatres, one day surgery and one endoscopy suite will remain operational for the construction period which has an expected duration of 2 years. Management are confident that throughout the redevelopment period there'll be minimal, if any, requirement for the redeployment of staff. They're also aware that this is the ideal chance to get any training completed that you may have outstanding or wish to complete that will also assist in reducing the probability of staff needing to temporarily redeploy. The redevelopment also provides the opportunity for any obsolete equipment to be sorted and replaced by updated equipment. Staff modelling is in its early stages, and HACSU raised the issue of basing staffing on the older ACORN staffing models. We highlighted that the new ACORN standards have much more detail around aides/techs etc than the old standards. Staffing is, and will be, a work in progress up until the final stages. There have been a few setbacks in the planning and construction stages but those issues seem to be almost sorted. There's now a clear plan with timelines in place which, if met, will result in a relatively smooth transition into the new and improved theatre areas. The increased operational capacity that will result from the redevelopments will help the Mersey remain an integral and important part of the local community.