Building a bridge between vital health services at Epsom Hospital | News

With a team of engineers working round-the-clock and a delivery of 18 tonnes of steel arriving on site, work to build a brand new footbridge at Epsom Hospital has officially begun.

The new footbridge, which is set to be completed in December, will link the main ward block of Epsom Hospital with Langley Wing. This means that patients and staff will be able to get around the hospital more easily than ever before (following socially distanced one way routes where necessary) and patients being transferred between departments or going for diagnostic tests will be protected from the Great British weather along the way.

The bridge link, which has been in the planning for a number of years, is part of a bigger project to redevelop Langley Wing as a community reablement and rehabilitation campus, supporting people to regain their previous levels of independence and return home safely, with the right package of care in place, after injury or illness. This includes the relocation of the New Epsom and Ewell Community Hospital (NEECH) and The Poplars neuro-rehabilitation service from Epsom’s West Park site to Langley Wing at Epsom Hospital.

Thirza Sawtell, Executive Director of Integration at Epsom and St Helier and Place Leader for Surrey Downs, said: “The Langley Wing redevelopment builds on the fantastic work we’ve already done to redesign the way we care for older people at risk of hospital admission, those who are not well enough to be at home but do not need acute hospital care, and those with frailty, to ensure they receive the right package of care and rehabilitation to not only return home quickly and safely, but to keep them safe and well at home.

“Patients will also benefit from having all of the rehabilitation, diagnostic and other specialist services they may need on one site. This will help to ensure continuity of care, reduce anxiety and minimise unnecessary travel between sites so they can focus on regaining their strength and independence.”

Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Projects at Epsom and St Helier hospitals, Trevor Fitzgerald, said: “The installation of the link bridge is a big step in our programme to redevelop Epsom Hospital and will vastly improve the experience of patients, including those who have had a stroke, when being transferred between Langley Wing and the main hospital buildings.  

“This is part of our long term strategy to improve both Epsom and St Helier hospitals to make them fit to provide 21^st century healthcare, while working on our plans to build a Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (SECH) in Sutton.”

The link bridge is due to be completed in December, with the remaining works to Langley Wing set to finish in autumn 2022.