£36m Walsall Manor Hospital A&E transformation approved
Plans for a multi-million transformation of Walsall’s A&E that will “cement the presence” of the hospital in the town have been approved.
Walsall Council’s planning chiefs backed the £36 million upgrade of the Manor Hospital’s emergency department that will see a brand new two-storey healthcare building erected and the existing A&E facility refurbished.
At Thursday’s meeting, members said this was a vital project that will improve healthcare and provide a massive boost for people in the borough.
Walsall NHS Healthcare Trust said the redevelopment was needed to help the hospital cope with increasing demand in the coming years.
At the end of 2018, the Government announced funding for the project had been approved and the work is expected to take around 18 months – with the facility completed by April 2022.
A report to the committee said conditions would be needed to ensure issues such as drainage are resolved. It added the development would see the loss of 40 car parking spaces too.
Speaking for the trust, Paul Wood told the committee: “This is a very important development for the local hospital and for the local population.
“The current existing ED department is very inadequate in terms of provision of modern healthcare and also was built at a time when there was only expected to be about a 150 patients a day. We’re now experiencing over 300 patients a day.
“In terms of issues around car parking, we have re-provided 100 out of 140 spaces that will be lost and we do have some potential options to find the other spaces in the future with a piece of land across the road from the hospital which is owned by the trust.
“We’re also willing to work with the council on the travel plan and trying to minimise the amount of traffic that will be associated with this development.”
Walsall Council leader and committee chairman Mike Bird said: “We all welcome this and I have to say I pay tribute to Eddie Hughes our MP, who has been campaigning for the money to get this hospital built.
“I hope this will cement the presence of the Manor Hospital in Walsall for many years to come as I go back to when there was a suggestion of merging with New Cross.
“No, this is our hospital, this is Walsall Manor and this is the improvement for the greater benefit of Walsall people.
Councillor Suky Samra added: “Any improvement to local healthcare can only benefit the residents of Walsall.”
And Councillor Stephen Craddock, portfolio holder for Health and well-being, said: “This is a huge upgrade to the A&E department. It’s a very welcome investment in both the town and the facilities.”
