HSC wants to spend £93.4 million on the hospital

Tuesday 12 February 2019

Health & Social Care wants to invest tens of millions of pounds in the Princess Elizabeth Hospital "before it is too late" and the demand for services outstrips the facilities available.

Up to £93.4 million will be invested in the Princess Elizabeth Hospital over the next 10 years, if the States agrees to proposals unveiled today by the Health & Social Care Committee.

Health & Social Care Committee President Heidi Soulsby said the Hospital Modernisation Programme, which would be the largest investment in the site in a generation, would start this year and be split into three phases ending in 2028, subject to States approval.   

“The PEH Campus is very much the backbone of our health and care system and we need to ensure that it is fit for purpose to provide the future delivery of secondary health care services which all deserve. 

“As is well known, demand for our services is rising, this is an inescapable fact which must be addressed. However, the current infrastructure severely limits our ability to adjust to this continual year-on-year increase in demand. At the same time, the outdated facilities make it increasingly difficult to meet modern regulatory standards and adapt to new technology. That is why we are making these proposals to invest, modernise and refurbish the hospital now: investing in a few years will be too late. 

“This substantial upgrade of the hospital is central to delivering on our cornerstone programme, the Partnership of Purpose, which reimagines the entire way healthcare is delivered in the Bailiwick. Once completed, Islanders will have a hospital which can enable top quality care to be delivered for decades to come as part of an integrated system of health and care."

Pictured: Health & Social Care's proposals for improving the women's and children's ward.

A detailed business case for all phases has been put together, and the Committee is currently seeking approval for the £44.3 million to be invested in the first phase of the work.

Phase 1, which would run from 2019 to 2021, would redesign and relocate the maternity unit adjacent to the theatres, reducing risk by minimising the distance between the two and the current reliance on lift transport. The children’s ward will be co-located and redesigned to accommodate a modern special care baby unit and appropriate adolescent unit. 

The total investment over 10 years is estimated to be between £72.3 million and £93.4 million, with separate States’ approval being required before the second and third phases can begin.

Pictured top: The main entrance of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.