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Renewing our hospitals

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) was formed on 1 April 2020 following the merger of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and Weston Area Health NHS Trust.

The information on this page is historic. Visit the UHBW About us pages for the latest information. 

 

Over the last decade we have redeveloped many of our hospitals to ensure that the physical environment in which we deliver care matches the quality of care we deliver. The new facilities have enabled us to implement new care pathways and more efficient ways of working. 

Redevelopment of the Bristol Royal Infirmary

new ward blockThe redevelopment of the BRI included an investment of £92 million on the construction of a new ward block at the back of the Queens Building, to house new wards and a new intensive care unit. The project was generously supported by £3 million of charitable funding from Above and Beyond. The charity's Golden Gift Appeal raised a total of £6 million to transform the BRI, the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC).

Every part of the new BRI ward block is designed around the needs of patients, visitors and staff, to offer modern, welcoming and supportive care in calm surroundings. The block more than doubled the number of single rooms available, providing patients with privacy and dignity, and eliminated the last of the Nightingale wards in our Trust.

With services located close to one another, the new facility has enabled us to work more efficiently. The new pre-operative department for the first time brings together the surgical admissions suite and pre-operative assessment clinic. These departments are now ideally located alongside surgical care, critical care and trauma on level six of the BRI and the number of assessment rooms has increased from 9 to 15, enabling us to increase capacity and theatre efficiency.

A helipad on the roof of the BRI Queens Building has sped up emergency transfer times for critically ill and injured patients, transporting them to specialist treatment they need as quickly as possible and increasing their chances of survival and a good recovery.

The Welcome Centre at the entrance of the BRI opened in December 2013 and provides a light and spacious entrance with improved facilities for patients, visitors and staff.

Redevelopment of the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre

We spent £16 million on transforming care for cancer patients in order to improve outcomes, extend life and enhance quality of life.

social area

The redevelopment of the BHOC consisted of three major initiatives:

  • The creation of an integrated adult BMT, haematology and apheresis unit within a specialist unit.
  • The development of a unit for teenagers and young adults with cancer, who now have their unique needs catered for in an environment appropriate to their age.
  • The replacement of two radiotherapy bunkers which has enables us to use the most advanced equipment available.

These improvements were generously supported by three charities - Above and Beyond, Teenage Cancer Trust and the Friends of the BHOC.

Centralisation of specialist paediatric services

We invested £31 million to bring together all specialist children's services under one roof at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC). In May 2014, burns, neurosurgery, plastic, orthopaedic and emergency services transferred from Frenchay Hospital, with the management of these services transferring from North Bristol NHS Trust to University Hospitals Bristol Foundation Trust.

New facilities at the children's hospital included a 16-bed neurosciences ward, a four-bed burn ward, six high-dependency beds, specialist theatres for burn and neurosurgery, a hybrid theatre to enable complex neuroradiology procedures, two day-case theatres, and additional diagnostic and outpatient facilities.