New £26.5m unit will help detect cancer
Work has started on a new state-of-the-art £26.5m Endoscopy Unit at Lincoln County
Hospital.
The new unit will offer a modern, accessible facility for patients and also create an improved working environment for staff.
It will provide state-of-the-art procedure rooms, as well as post-procedure rooms that include en-suite facilities which will improve patient experience.
Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group Chief Executive, Professor Karen Dunderdale, said: “Our endoscopy diagnostic services can help to detect cancer, so it is vital that we invest in these services to continue to be able to support our patients with fast and comfortable diagnostic services.
“Our new unit will mean that we can increase diagnostic capacity, offer even higher levels of patient privacy and provide a great working environment for our staff.
“The new 1,972 square metre unit will increase the number of procedure rooms we have at Lincoln from three to four, with the potential to add a further two rooms in the future. This will ensure we can meet increasing demand and allow our patients to be seen sooner.”
Dr Glenn Spencer, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Lead for Endoscopy, said: “This fantastic new state-of-the-art unit will provide patients with a greatly improved environment and patient experience. All patients will be cared for in individual en-suite rooms.
“It will also provide staff with excellent facilities to enhance the high quality care that they already provide and ensure we meet the growing demands for endoscopic procedures.”
Teri Would, Clinical Services Manager, said: “This is a really exciting time for the whole team and we would like to thank all of the staff and all of the patients who have contributed to this amazing project. It is so exciting to see all of their visions become reality. We will have more staff to care for our patients in this new unit when it opens next year.”
An endoscopy is a test to look inside your body. A long, thin tube with a small camera inside, called an endoscope, is passed into the body through a natural opening such as the mouth.
Different types of endoscopy tests are
- colonoscopy – to check the bowels
- colposcopy - to check the cervix
- cystoscopy - to check the bladder
- gastroscopy - to check the oesophagus, stomach and part of the small intestine
- hysteroscopy - to check the womb
The new unit is being built on the site of a former staff car park on St Anne’s Road. Additional car parking capacity has already been created to replace the lost spaces.
Dr Spencer and Teri recently joined colleagues and members of the team from contractors Bowmer and Kirkland at a steel signing ceremony on the site.
Pictures show (above) artist’s impression of the new Endoscopy Unit.
Below - Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Lead for Endoscopy Dr Glenn Spencer.
Bottom - Clinical Services Manager Teri Would.
