Hinchingbrooke Hospital has unveiled its new £3.4 million critical care centre which will provide specialist state-of-the art facilities for critically-ill patients.

Staff will move from the current 30-year-old unit on the first floor and begin treating patients at the new centre on the ground floor, next week.

The official opening was carried out by Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly and the hospital’s chief executive Hisham Abdel-Rahman.

The unit will have 10 individual rooms, four of which will be used for isolated and highly infectious cases.

Mr Abdel-Rahman said the centre was pivotal in the hospital’s quest to becoming a top ten district hospital.

“The Care Quality Commission rated our critical care services as ‘good’ when they inspected the trust last September,” he said.

“The new centre provides a very strong platform to make these services ‘outstanding’ which is absolutely where they need to be.”

“The opening of the hospital’s new critical care centre marks the culmination of many years of planning. We are committed to being a top ten district general hospital and over the last six months we have started work on the trust’s £2.4m Macmillan Woodlands Cancer Treatment Centre, opened our new ENT and Audiology Department and a new CT scanner is being commissioned this week.”

The new centre will include a relative’s room with kitchen area and direct access to a private, outdoor area. There will also be a dedicated, confidential room for staff to discuss patient care plans with healthcare professionals.

A new clinical information system will be introduced as part of the new centre. The paper-less system aims to eliminate the risks associated with traditional paper-based documentation, resulting in improved patient safety. It will also support round-the-clock electronic charting of patient’s care and treatment.

Corin Prunty, divisional head of nursing added: “I am delighted that the new centre will offer much improved facilities for our critically-ill patients, their families and our staff. As one of the only hospitals to offer individual rooms, patients and their families will benefit from more privacy and enhanced infection prevention.

“In addition to this, the centre will benefit from a sophisticated lighting system, specifically designed to help reduce delirium which can be common in patients receiving intensive care treatment. There will also be much better facilities for our dedicated staff. These include a seminar room, increased storage and the addition of an on-call room to provide instant access to clinical expertise.”