Her Majesty The Queen opens new urgent and emergency care at Great Western Hospital
Queen Camilla was given a tour of the Emergency Department, Medical Assessment Unit and Children’s Emergency Unit and met a number of patients.
Last updated 21st Jan 2025
Her Majesty The Queen today officially opened Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s urgent and emergency care development.
The £33.5 million urgent and emergency care expansion opened to the public in the autumn of 2024.
HM The Queen commemorated the opening by unveiling a plaque alongside a pupil, Latoyah Vashi, nine, from the neighbouring Badbury Park Primary School.
Queen Camilla was given a tour of the Emergency Department, Medical Assessment Unit and Children’s Emergency Unit and met a number of patients including four-year-old Jackson James and his mother in the Children’s Emergency Unit infant feeding room.
The development is the biggest ever investment to the hospital site and follows the opening of the Urgent Treatment Centre and OUH Radiotherapy at Swindon Centre in 2022.
With a 60 per cent bigger footprint, the new Emergency Department, Children’s Emergency Unit and Medical Assessment Unit, aims to provide healthcare for the increasing demand and growing population of the town.
Chairman Liam Coleman said: “We are thrilled that Her Majesty The Queen visited us here in Swindon today, to mark such a significant moment in our Trust history.
“It took over five years of hard work to bring our new urgent and emergency care development to life, and I want to thank everyone who has helped us get to today, creating a new department that will benefit the people of Swindon and Wiltshire for years to come.
“Thank you to Her Majesty The Queen for taking the time to unveil a plaque and meet with so many of our fantastic staff and patients, to the children of Badbury Park Primary School and to other local dignitaries who have also given their time to join us today.”