A NEW £1.2million building at Southend Hospital will open in May, adding extra consulting rooms, a waiting area and new offices.

The two-storey building will be home to an expanded outpatients’ services, with hospital bosses hoping it will speed up care for patients who do not need to stay overnight.

The new building will be created by 14 small modules being craned into position on site.

The £1.2 million building will feature a total of 14 consulting rooms, a waiting area and seven offices, providing extra outpatient space to that already in place at the hospital.

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Yvonne Blucher, managing director at Southend Hospital, said: “We have a huge demand for extra outpatient space, and this new area will help meet that.

“As well as providing better service to patients, they will also be getting their care in a much nicer, and more welcoming area.”

Thanks to this new £1.2 million building, the outpatient’s team will be able to increase the number of patients they see who need an appointment for treatment, diagnosis, or a procedure, but don’t need to stop in hospital overnight.

It is hoped this will lead to a reduction in waiting times too and make a huge difference to both patients and the staff delivering their care.

Initially the space is going to be used for trauma and orthopaedics patients, but it will be a dedicated multi-purpose space for all outpatient specialties.

This build is just one of several new build expansion products at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust to help improve patient facilities across sites.

Councillor Matt Dent has said this new development couldn’t have occurred at a better time following the pandemic.

He said: “This exactly the sort of thing we need, the exact sort of investment we need in local health infrastructure.

“We obviously, like the rest of the country, in Southend have big backlog of people waiting for appointments for treatment and procedures, and investments like this are going to be absolutely essential in getting that shifted.

“To also make sure that the city continues to function from a health perspective and residents can be confident in not having to wait long times for treatment.

“Arguably, this investment and build couldn’t have come at a better time due to the pandemic.”