A NURSE who has worked at Southend Hospital for more than 20 years has placed one of the final bricks on the new £8.5million accident and emergency department.

The brick was placed on what will be the children’s emergency department by nurse matron Jane Ralph who has spent two decades in the emergency department. 

The new A&E is set to open in “early 2025” as part of the major multi-million pound expansion.  

Final bricks - Jane with a brickFinal bricks - Jane with a brick (Image: MSE)


A “new and improved” department will feature adult treatment area, waiting rooms and resuscitation spaces. 

The expansion is being paid for by some of the £118 million funding the Mid and South Essex Trust secured from the Department for Health and Social Care in 2023.

Jane has expressed pride of being part of “such an important development” in the expansion project. 

Final bricks - Jane on the construction site Final bricks - Jane on the construction site (Image: MSE) CGI - A mock-up of the future expanded emergency department CGI - A mock-up of the future expanded emergency department (Image: MSE)


She said: “It’s been amazing to see this building take shape so quickly.

“Our patients are at the heart of everything we do, so it is an honour to place this brick in a project that will transform how we care for them.

“This expansion provides patients with state-of-the-art emergency care now, and for years to come.” 

Almost finished - The new department opens next summerAlmost finished - The new department opens next summer (Image: MSE)


The hospital has claimed the improved layout will help to reduce the amount of time that ambulances wait to transfer patients, so that people can get urgent care they need as quickly as possible.

Martin Terry, independent councillor responsible for community safety, said: “As a long-standing city councillor, I am delighted to see the investment, £8.5 million is a significant amount.

“I do think it is something overdue, the trust have had to rely on Basildon Hospital a lot.

“However, we need as many facilities in Southend as possible, in the end, I hope this is the start of many more investment projects.”

Additional beds are planned for the second phase of the expansion, with hospital capacity having increased recently following the opening of the Dowsett ward, a 16-space clinical assessment unit, earlier this year.

The trust has received £25 million of the initial £40 million promised and “hopes” to receive the full funding once a business case is submitted and approved in March 2025.