University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) has taken the decision to re-open two wards in the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital to meet the unprecedented demand on services across the region and, in particular, on the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB).

The Trust is proactively responding to a steep rise in the number of GP referrals, self-presenting patients and emergency admissions. This rise has impacted on elective surgery and, rather than see operations cancelled, the Trust is increasing capacity to ensure we can continue to deliver timely care to the people who come to us for our quality interventions and expertise. 

Dame Julie Moore, Chief Executive of UHB, said: “We have been forced to cancel some elective surgery and we apologise to the people who have been affected.

“The old wards are being opened to ensure we manage this situation effectively and to cause the least possible impact on patients requiring our services.

“What we're not doing is looking after patients in corridors. In this way they will be cared for in a proper ward environment.

“It’s difficult to say exactly what is causing the increase in demand across the region but an aging population, people living longer with chronic diseases and possibly the cold weather are all factors.”

The region has seen a 10 per cent increase in A&E attendances in the first quarter of the year. UHB is seeing 65 per cent of this figure.

The two wards in the old QE will open in the near future but they will not be filled to capacity, in order to give patients more space and to ensure the highest level of infection prevention and control. They are being configured and equipped to ensure the highest level of hygiene and each will be a single sex ward.

They have been newly decorated and all of the equipment being installed is brand new.

Patients and their families should be reassured that the Trust’s stringent policies on infection prevention and control are implemented across the entire hospital site by staff who are trained to uphold standards that have the patient’s safety and hygiene at the centre of everything we do.