Work to boost hospital resilience underway in both the Hutt Valley and Wellington will help ensure the continuation of safe care and support for both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients.

Following the allocation of $3 million in infrastructure funding, Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHBs have embarked on two projects to support routine care and bolster safety for patients and staff.

“As Wellington Regional Hospital’s ‘front door’, Te Pae Tiaki Wellington ED is vital in managing the flow of patients seeking hospital-level care,” said 2DHB chief medical officer John Tait.

“In anticipation of an increase in people presenting to ED with COVID-19, we have reconfigured the ED screening area and created an additional space for secondary screening of known non-COVID-19 and potential COVID-19 patients. As well as increasing our screening capacity, this enables improved separation of patients.”

The second project to commence is focused on planned care, and will involve the refurbishment of a currently unused building on the Hutt Hospital campus to create a new renal unit.

“A building on the Hutt Hospital site that was previously used as a daycare centre will be refurbished to create a four-bay satellite unit where renal patients who are COVID-positive can continue to receive treatment and support.

“This means these people can still receive care, while remaining separate from non-COVID renal patients – many of whom are immunocompromised and have a higher risk of infection. Work has begun on the refurbishment, and we hope for the unit to be completed and open to patients by the end of this month or early April.”

These projects are part of a wider suite of improvement and enhancement works planned for the 2DHB campuses.

“The 2DHBs have detailed planning in place to ensure that we are able to continue delivering services safely and sustainably in the COVID-19 climate and into the future. These infrastructure enhancements will play an important part in our work to balance the safety of staff and patients, and continue the delivery of safe care to both COVID-positive and non-COVID patients alike.”

These upgrades are part of a wider ongoing programme of infrastructure improvements being made by the 2DHBs to bolster resilience and improve care and experience for both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients and clients.

These improvements include the construction of individualised service units at Ratonga Rua o Porirua, ongoing enhancements and future proofing of the region’s new children’s hospital Te Wao Nui, reconfiguration of existing spaces within our hospitals to improve patient flow, and design work on the mental health inpatient facility at Hutt Hospital.

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