Anneliese Dodds MP visits £11m development at the John Radcliffe Hospital

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) welcomed Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East, to the Trust on Friday 16 October.

The main focus of Ms Dodds’ visit was the site of OUH’s £11 million Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) project.

The project will transform currently unused space on Level 1 of the John Radcliffe Hospital into a range of new facilities that will help patients access the care they need more quickly, while supporting staff to work more closely together and reduce delays in treatment.

The project is in the delivery phase, with construction work having started earlier this year. Subject to continued progress, the new facilities are expected to open in phases from spring 2027.

A key part of the development is a new 51-bed Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) for adult patients, with a particular focus on older patients and those with complex needs. The unit will provide short-stay assessment and treatment, helping teams of healthcare professionals provide care more quickly.

Working closely with community services, including Hospital at Home, it is also expected to help reduce patients’ length of stay and support more people to receive care closer to home where appropriate.

The programme will also enable the existing Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) to move to a larger space next to the Emergency Department. The UTC will treat patients with minor illnesses and other conditions that can often be managed outside the Emergency Department, allowing Emergency Department teams to focus on those with more serious needs.

For children and young people, plans include a dedicated observation area for short-term monitoring outside the Paediatric Emergency Department, as well as new cubicles designed to provide a more appropriate environment for those with mental health concerns.

Additional space will be created for same-day emergency care (Extended Emergency Medicine Ambulatory Care, EEMAC), enabling more adult patients to be assessed, treated and discharged on the same day without needing to be admitted to hospital.

Anneliese Dodds said: "It was fascinating to see the Urgent and Emergency Care project first-hand. It will create state-of-the-art facilities which will make a huge difference for local patients. It was especially heartening to hear how the new facilities will help those with complex needs and older people to get the joined-up healthcare they need. I'm grateful to the OUH team and the contractors for showing me around, and wish them all the best for the next phase of the project."

Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer at OUH, said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Anneliese to OUH. This urgent and emergency care project is a huge investment for the Trust, and will make a significant difference to patient and staff experience when receiving and delivering this kind of care."

The project is being delivered by Marcon Construction.

Contracts Manager for Marcon, Denis Barari, said: "It was great to meet Anneliese and show her what we are doing as she has been very supportive of this project. We are now looking forward to welcoming her back to see this new facility when it opens next year."