A new multimillion pound building has fully opened at Southend Hospital.

The first and second floors of the £9.7 million Cherry Tree Wing have just started welcoming patients, after the ground floor opened in April.

Bosses say the new facilities will help patients get seen quicker when they come into hospital by freeing up beds so fewer people are unnecessarily admitted to a ward.

They will also allow for better social distancing among patients.

The first floor is the new home for the Surgical Assessment Unit, seeing patients who have been referred by their GP or by the Emergency Department (ED).

It has 18 bed spaces and complements the Same Day Emergency Care facilities on the ground floor, reducing the journey and wait time for those needing CT, MRI, or Ultrasound scans.

The top floor meanwhile be used as a discharge unit and be an area for patients to stay on their last day in hospital.

Hot meals, snacks, books and magazines will be provided and patients will be cared for in comfortable chairs or beds.

The new floor offers eight reclining chairs and an area especially for bed-bound patients.

A pharmacy on wheels scheme will also see medications and prescriptions brought up to patients waiting to be discharged, rather than them having to collect it themselves.

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Helen Holder, matron and lead for first floor area, said: “It’s wonderful to have this new vibrant space, both for patients and our excellent team of staff. With us being right next to ED, patients’ turnaround times will be improved as they can be scanned en route and they will be able to see our speciality teams much faster.

“We are providing them with an improved service in a shorter time, in a much nicer setting.”

Nicola Gibson, pharmacy operational lead helping on the top floor added: “Previously, a member of staff from the ward would have had to go to pharmacy to collect the discharge medications, but here pharmacy is brought to the patient.

"This means that the patients’ wait for medications is reduced to as little as 20 minutes rather than a couple of hours.

“As well as being better for patients, who get to go home sooner, it’s also better for the flow in the hospital.”

Pharmacy on wheels is currently running as a pilot scheme until December.