Guernsey Press

Hospital's outdated areas need addressing 'pretty damn quick'

OUTDATED parts of the Princess Eliza­beth Hospital might not survive the winter, one of its top officials has warned.

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OUTDATED parts of the Princess Eliza­beth Hospital might not survive the winter, one of its top officials has warned.

Director of corporate services Richard Evans was speaking after Health and Social Services' capital bid for 'reprofiling' the hospital did not qualify for funding as one of Treasury's proposed priority projects for 2014 to 2017.

'If we're going to provide health services that are fit for the future, bearing in mind the ageing demographic we know is coming, then we need to do something about the 70s part of the hospital pretty damn quick,' he said.

During an in-depth tour of the PEH with the Guernsey Press, Mr Evans said that parts of the building, including the Giffard surgical ward, which has 22 beds, were no longer fit for purpose.

'We have four beds in each bay, each separated by a curtain,' he said. 'It's not really appropriate any more in terms of privacy and dignity – you can hear what's happening next door and if a nurse is working on the next bed you can have elbows coming through the curtains.'

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