Health minister visits Rugby hospital after MP calls for additional urgent care and emergency services

Health minister Will Quince visited Rugby’s Hospital of St Cross to hear about the need for additional urgent care and emergency services.

The minister was given a tour of the Barby Road site during the visit which was set up by Rugby MP Mark Pawsey.

They met with the Chief Executive of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Professor Andy Hardy.

The tour included a visit to the Minor Injuries Unit, the Maple Unit and the new endoscopy building currently under construction, and due to open later this year.

The group also met with staff on shift at the Urgent Treatment Centre and the minister spoke to them about improvements they would hope to see at St Cross.

The primary focus of the visit was to develop the case for enhanced urgent and emergency provision at St Cross, in

light of Rugby’s growing population and the importance of easy access to emergency care.

Mr Quince said: “It was a pleasure to meet with Mark Pawsey MP and the team at Hospital of St Cross, Rugby and discuss how we are investing in local services, including the expansion of the urgent treatment centre.”

Mark’s recent work showed that 83% of his constituents live more than a 15-minute drive away from an A&E and he has been campaigning for additional urgent care and emergency services to be provided at Rugby’s local hospital.

One option under consideration for delivering additional services at St Cross is bringing forward doctor-led provision

instead of the present nurse-led service. This would enable more patients to be treated on-site at St Cross and is a

proposal that would be supported by staff at St Cross and one which the Minister has said works well in other

hospitals.

Mark said: “Expanding services at the Hospital of St Cross to support Rugby’s growth is the single most important issue for my constituents and one that I will do all I can to deliver.

"I was therefore delighted that Minister Will Quince was able to accept my invitation to see for himself the importance of our local hospital, and for the potential to expand the services on offer. This would mean fewer Rugby residents having to travel to University Hospital for treatment – which would also reduce pressure there. Additional resources including the new endoscopy unit and the improvements made at the Maple Unit are positive steps, but I will continue to make the case in the strongest possible terms to the health service, and to my colleagues in Government, for the return of doctor-led urgent treatment at the Hospital of St Cross.”

The Trust added it is continuing to work closely with its partners to further increase the provision of services delivered

at the hospital, as outlined in its Organisational Strategy.

Following the opening of a purpose-built Haematology and Oncology unit and modular theatres, the new endoscopy suite is set to be opened in the autumn to provide more tests for patients with potentially life-threatening conditions and support earlier diagnosis.