New A&E opens at Ayr Hospital
NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s new state-of-the-art Emergency Department (ED) opened its doors to patients at 8am on Wednesday 24 February 2016. The milestone was marked with a ribbon and cake cutting just before the doors opened.
The new ED has four fully functioning resuscitation bays, twice as many as in the old ED. New additional features are the integrated minor injury unit and dedicated x-ray facility.
In the run up to the opening we held tours for staff and an open day for invited guests and members of the public. During this time more than 400 members of staff and the public took the opportunity to see the ED and find out about the new facilities.
Liz Moore, Director for Acute Services, commented: “I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come along for a tour of the new ED. We are delighted to be able to offer these state-of-the-art facilities for the people of Ayrshire. The bigger department will help us to provide more efficient care, which will ultimately improve the experience for our patients.”
The new Emergency Department is part of the Building for Better Care programme, which sees £27.5 million being invested in ‘front door’ services at both University Hospital Ayr and University Hospital Crosshouse. The 'front door' is the term used to describe the point of entry for patients coming to hospital for anything other than a scheduled appointment. The new facilities will make it possible for patients to get rapid assessment by senior clinical staff at the earliest point of their arrival in hospital.