Affordable housing for hospital staff, a care home, assisted living accommodation and independent living lodges could all be coming to the St Mary’s Hospital site, alongside an improved intensive care unit and emergency department.
It forms part of major £25.5million estate improvements planned for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, funding by the £48million awarded to the Trust in 2019 to pay for building and IT improvements.
The projects proposed for the hospital and in the wider Island community are being called a catalyst for change in an estate strategy, which was approved by the Trust’s board on Thursday. The strategy will help the trust prioritise investment and reduce the burden of £11million worth of backlog maintenance and critical infrastructure risks.
As part of the strategy on the 32-acre ‘North site’, there would be a range of residential properties to address the shortfall of key worker housing, both affordable and open market housing. There could also be a care home, operated by a third party acting as a step-down facility from the hospital, an extra care village incorporating dementia care with an assisted living complex and independent living lodges.
‘Hot’ and ‘Cold’ zones are being proposed to separate non-elective and elective care pathways at St Mary’s, which will help improve the flow of patients through the hospital and allow staff to deliver high-quality care in the right place at the right time.
4 projects have been identified to be completed by March 2024, including:
- A locality hub in Newport Town Centre — the former HMV Store on Newport High Street — as an integrated mental health and community service
- An improved Intensive Care Unit at St Mary’s Hospital
- An improved Emergency Floor at St Mary’s Hospital — co-location of the Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre, the relocation of the Fracture Clinic and the creation of a Same Day Emergency Care Unit.
- Acute bed reconfiguration at St Mary’s Hospital — creation of a new ward in underutilised accommodation
On the South part of the hospital site, further opportunities will be explored, but potential uses have been identified including a restaurant; hotel with conference and gym facilities; and a new community and mental health inpatient facility.
Improvements to the ambulance station are proposed and will centralise transport services under one roof and improve the turn-around of ambulances.
Speaking at the Trust board meeting, chair Melloney Poole said the strategy has the potential to bring benefits to the whole Island.
Sara Weech, a non-executive director at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, called the approval of the strategy a tipping point, where improvements will be delivered and not just talked about.
This sounds like good news, anything that helps the staff and nhs is welcome.
what – destroying greenfields, cutting down trees that remove the CO2 out of the air and put oxygen back in so that it is breathable for us to live, adding to the pollution, rubbish, congestion, traffic, the loss of habitat for birds, insects and other creatures is all acceptable because it helps the NHS -get real, this is just another cover for a housing development on greenfields -so much for the climate emergency and the need to do everything we can to reduce CO2 in the air
Cool idea, there’s nothing much other than the hospital building itself on that site anyway (trees were cut for the chopper to be safe maybe?) but there’s a bus stop, few minutes walk to centre… sounds cool for elderly who may frequent hospital and those of staff who want to live close to hospital/Newport for cheaper.
That’s actually a development I can stand behind. A bit surprised to see quality but it’s a nice surprise 🙂
Sounds a good idea, except the ‘ open Housing market ‘ properties… these should have a note stating never to be rented, permanent residence only.. No BUY to LET ….
As part of the strategy on the 32-acre ‘North site’, there would be a range of residential properties to address the shortfall of key worker housing, both affordable and open market housing.
Yet another scheme of house building dressed up as something under the NHS banner, when really it is just another plan to increase the population on the island, adding to the congestion, overcrowding, pollution and queuing that we already endure.
all this does is add to the number of people moving here and adding to the stupid population increase strategy that these idiots follow.
Vote for more cycling schemes, public transport, shared paths, walkable “15-minute” villages, clean air zones. Most people in UK don’t get enough physical activity yet on average households have more than 1 car: no wonder pollution, congestion etc. is up. We need more people like you who care about those things to speak up together, that’s the only way we can change towards a more sustainable society 🙂
But is it going to get rid of all the bed blockers and how long before the council closes the home sorry for being sceptical but you had Frank James ha ha and are we going to get our hospital back hhmm we’ll belive it when we see it this problem has been around for so long and don’t come out with the excuse of covid!
Bugger the staff it’s the public that keeps them going
I’ll believe it when I see it. All sounds very good and just what our hospital needs.
I wish, I really do wish I could take this at face value as the good news it purports to be.
But! Theres so much opportunity for the usual brown envelope brigade to pocket an awful lot of money, and short change the public purse, as well as those whom it’s meant to benefit.
Cynical? Been around long enough to have seen and heard it all before.
Pity they closed our County Hospital in Ryde to build houses on,There would not be any problems if the 3 hospital they closed were still with us
Hope there’s going to be a bus stop for Westwight patients, so difficult at the moment to travel to hospital from Freshwater area
Having been to the cancer day treatment ward ,that is located in I believe an obscure unwelcoming part of the original hospital, I would suggest this should be relocated. The ward was opened some 15 years ago and used I believe for 2 days a week it’s now used 5 days a week and with all the houses the council want built obviously will not be able to cope with the increasing number of patients.
Surprised they don’t build houses on old hunnyhill primary school field doubt it’s used for anything