Hull Royal Infirmary care centre approved
Planning permission has been granted for the £7.5m project, with construction due to begin in September ahead of completion in autumn next year.
The new Lansdowne building will be constructed at the centre of the hospital site and is intended to free up space within the Tower Block for additional acute clinical areas, helping to cut waiting times and improve patient care.
The ground floor will house a specially designed patient discharge lounge for people who are medically fit to leave hospital but are waiting for arrangements to be made.
These could include community care packages, medication, transport, or a placement with another care provider.
The second floor will provide non-clinical office space, freeing up further room within the Tower Block for patient care. Detailed plans for these areas are still being finalised.
Meanwhile, the first floor will bring together the Care Co-ordination and Discharge teams in a dedicated hub.
The NHS Humber Health Partnership said locating the teams in the same space would help improve the planning and management of operational demand across its sites, while strengthening communication and collaboration throughout the discharge process.
Director of operational transformation at NHS Humber Health Partnership, Jenn Orton, said: “While Discharge Lounges as a concept are nothing new, having this purpose-built space on the site will also make a significant difference to how we can deliver care at Hull Royal.
“Being able to move medically fit patients into these areas frees up beds on our acute wards for patients in greater need of care. However, the existing Discharge Lounges on the site were not only in need of renovation but were also housed in spaces we felt could be put to better use for acute patient care.
“What this new building will allow us to do is provide a more suitable, modern area for the discharge lounge – with the added benefit of being co-located the team co-ordinating this activity – and refurbish other areas within the main Tower Block to be used for acute patient care.”
