Temporary endosopy unit plan for Stafford hospital to meet appointment demand
A temporary mobile endoscopy unit has been installed in the grounds of Stafford’s County Hospital to help meet demand for appointments.
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Permission is being sought from Stafford Borough Council for the installation of five temporary mobile endoscopy trailers on an existing staff car parking area at the Weston Road hospital for six to 12 months.
The unit, which opened last month, will operate a seven-day service with the aim of clearing the overdue waiting list for planned and surveillance procedures, University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust has said.
Up to 750 patients a month are expected to be screened on a range of specialities after funding was secured from NHS England.
Kathryn Kelter, Head of Operations for Planned Care at UHNM said: “We’ve already been doing a lot of work to increase endoscopy capacity across UHNM, with teams at both Royal Stoke and County hospitals going above and beyond to provide timely diagnostics in an effort to reduce current waiting lists, so to now have the facility to screen and diagnose an additional 750 patients per month is amazing news for our local population.
"This fantastic, brand-new unit at County Hospital will help us to provide the best possible patient experience whilst maintaining the sustainability of our endoscopy service prior to the opening of the Community Diagnostic Centre in 2025. ”
The unit features two diagnostic rooms and its own decontamination facilities.
A design and access statement submitted as part of the application said: “The proposed units are a standardised endoscopy unit, provided by EMS. They arrive as HGV trailers to accommodate the project’s lifespan, meaning they can be easily removed once the need has mitigated.
“The intention is to use a section of the existing car park to the south of the site which is currently used for premium and renal parking to construct a temporary endoscopy unit whilst retaining as many parking spaces as possible. The trailers have been set out to create a contained endoscopy unit which minimises the loss of car parking spaces on the site.
“There will be no visual impact because the proposed units share the same materiality as the existing Hand Theatre. There will be no impact to any access roads surrounding or within the site.”
