Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, was left impressed with recent improvements made at Queen’s Hospital after visiting last week.

Meeting with senior staff from the Trust, Julia heard all about the progress made and the positive impact this has had on patient experience.

Since her last visit, we are no longer the lowest performer in London when it comes to treating the most seriously ill patients (Type 1) and we are out of the bottom 20 per cent nationally.

A new initiative which is a boost for our patients is our brand-new Infusion Suite which allows patients to receive infusion therapy as an outpatient, rather than needing to be admitted and staying overnight.

Julia learnt about all the benefits for this cohort of patients but also the impact it will have on bed availability.

Julia said: “It was great to catch up with the senior executives at BHRUT, alongside PELC CEO, Steve Rubery, to discuss the recent changes they have made at Queen’s Hospital.

“These new measures have already led to significantly improved performance in ambulance handovers and reduced waiting times across the urgent and emergency care pathways.

“I was also shown brand new facilities such as the new Infusion Suite and the Discharge Lounge, which help improve patient comfort while increasing hospital capacity – key as we enter the pressures of winter.”

Colleagues also discussed ongoing work with our partner PELC, which runs the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Queen’s Hospital, to improve how patients access their service.

Julia was walked through the newly reconfigured areas where patients will soon access the UTC which removes queuing and waiting in the hospital atrium while giving patients a more comfortable place to be triaged.

Julia added: “I was encouraged to learn of further forthcoming changes that will help to streamline the flow of patients into the hospital and, crucially, ensure that patients are not screened within the main atrium.

“I am very pleased to see these plans develop and I look forward to seeing these new pathways in place when I visit in the New Year.”

Fiona Wheeler, our Chief Operating Officer, said: “Since Julia’s last visit to Queen’s, we have made many changes which have improved the care patients are receiving and their experience at our hospital. We know we have more to do and too many people still wait too long in our A&Es.

“This was a great opportunity to demonstrate all the progress we have made, and we look forward to welcoming her back soon.”