Our revamped Children’s Emergency Department (ED) at King George Hospital has officially opened, which will be crucial in helping us treat sick children during the busy winter months.

As part of our £5m investment in upgrading ED facilities at King George Hospital, we’ve spent £800k turning our Children’s ED into a state-of-the-art facility, which has four additional cubicles, a larger waiting room which has doubled in size, a resus/high dependency bay and a consultation room for children with mental health needs.

Chief Executive Matthew Trainer celebrated the launch of the new area by cutting a ribbon with our Children’s ED team and said: “I’m delighted that we’ve opened the improved Children’s ED at such a busy time of year. We need to make sure that our fantastic clinicians have a workplace that does justice to the care they deliver. This will help them continue to give local children and families the very best care.

“It’s been exciting seeing the changes being made in our ED and I look forward to the new year when we will open the rest of our upgraded facilities. This investment is a sign of our ongoing commitment to developing King George Hospital.”

Consultant Paediatrician Aber Eaqub, who is also our Lead for Children’s ED, said: “Our upgraded department is wonderful news for local families, as well as our staff, as it is better equipped to treat poorly children.

“The larger ED means we can welcome younger patients in a pleasant environment, which has been specifically designed for children and babies. Our objective is to keep children at the heart of everything we do, and this investment is extremely important in our efforts to provide the best care.”

Pictured above is Matthew cutting the ribbon to our new Children's ED.