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First of five new hospital wards opens to patients

A newly built 20-bed ward has opened at Addenbrooke’s, as part of a large-scale development to increase the hospital’s capacity.

Ward T2 is one of five wards being built in the coming year which will add an extra 116 beds to the Addenbrooke’s site. This additional capacity will enable the hospital’s recovery from the pandemic and help to reduce waiting lists.

The first patients to be looked after in T2 are all medically fit for discharge but need some form of community support.

Bethany Ricketts, a senior sister and one of the new ward managers on T2, said: "Having been involved in the planning and staff preparations for the opening of the ward, it's great to see our first patients finally here.”

This new unit helps us to ensure we have the right patients, on the right ward at the right time.

Bethany Ricketts, senior sister and ward manager

Bethany Ricketts on the opening of ward T2

Link: https://youtu.be/bSbuwurFKlE

Video transcript

00:00:03:08 - 00:00:04:23

So if you can imagine,

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one of the main

00:00:05:14 - 00:00:07:11

hospital wards are full, in that

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all of their beds have patients in,

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but some of those patients

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don't need to be in that acute

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setting anymore.

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They can come to us,

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which then allows for

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that ward in the main Trust

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to accept patients from

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A&E that need that acute care.

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So it's like getting the right patient

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into the right ward,

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at the right time

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that they need that care.

Ewen Cameron, Chief Operating Officer at Cambridge University Hospitals Trust (CUH), said: “These extra wards for patients nearing discharge will free up space in other parts of the hospital for those needing higher levels of care, for instance after surgery. "

Keeping a good flow of patients through the hospital means we can recover more quickly from the pandemic.

Ewen Cameron, Chief Operating Officer, CUH

The new unit will be followed later this year by a further two wards on another part of the Addenbrooke’s site, providing an additional 40 beds.

In the meantime, a further 2 wards with a total of 56 beds are being built on a site beside T2. This will have a basement level, linking up to the hospital’s underground corridor system, giving quick access to key departments across the Addenbrooke’s site.

Alongside recovery from the pandemic, this additional capacity also enables CUH to better respond as a regional ‘surge’ centre, during particularly busy times in the health system such as winter, or another Covid-19 wave.