R CHARITY: 9 Things you need to know about the New Royal Hospital

It’s the final day of The Guide Liverpool’s Charity Takeover Week and we’ve saved this giant of  local healthcare until last.

Everyone has a story to tell about the iconic Royal hospital, and we’ve teamed up with R Charity today to find out more about their £10m appeal to support world-class care at the New Royal, due to open in 2017.

R Charity goes above and beyond the NHS promise of care to bring better facilities, equipment and environments and ultimately provide more comfort and convenience for patients and their families.

For over 150 years The Royal Liverpool Hospital has been at the heart of Liverpool-life and the edge of pioneering treatment. The New Royal is going to continue that legacy and with the support of R Charity and your fundraising efforts, more patients can be treated quickly, with dignity and in comfort.

Check back throughout the day as Jay meets staff and patients and brings you a rare glimpse at the New Royal as it nears completion.

Here’s 9 things you didn’t know about the New Royal hospital.

1 – The vision for the New Royal is not to just replace the crumbling old hospital with a shiny new one, but to create a completely different hospital in the heart of a radically renewed and improved local healthcare service. The New Royal isn’t just stunning to look at, it’s going to lead the way in improving patient experience.

2 – Each year the Royal cares for and treats over 172,000 emergency patients and more than 490,000 outpatients. The New Royal will have 646 beds including a 40-bed intensive therapy unit, 18 state-of-the-art theatres and 23 wards including a large clinical research facility to provide comprehensive care closer to home.

3 – The New Royal will provide every patient with a single room, complete with en-suite facilities to maximise comfort and dignity. You can find out more later about how R Charity is dedicated to providing more facilities for family members to remain close during periods in hospital.

4 – You might wander what will happen to the old Royal once the new site opens in 2017? Well, there are plans in place to develop a world-class Liverpool Biocampus and health campus as well as landscaping green space to roughly the size of Chavasse Park at Liverpool One. How awesome is that?

5 – The whole site will be unrecognisable after the big move. With plans for an underground carpark and bus routes which be able to stop directly at the hospital, there will be easier and better access for everyone. The New Royal will look amazing inside and out with plans to create more bright, airy spaces that benefit staff and patients alike.

6- The New Royal will be vital for the regeneration of Liverpool and will transform an area regarded as the gateway to the city. The construction of the New Royal has brought jobs and investment to the city and has given us another reason to show why Liverpool is the place to begin a career in pioneering healthcare.

7- The emergency department at the New Royal will be one of the largest in the country with a CT scanner and lifts that connect directly with theatres to benefit major trauma patients.

8 – The New Royal will enable clinics and services to be streamlined, efficient and flexible. All fixed equipment, from nurse call buttons to imaging equipment such as scanners, will be completely brand new and the latest available on the market, supporting the aim to set new standards in healthcare.

9 – The New Royal will cater for the local area in more than just world-class healthcare. Throughout the four year construction, the New Royal will create the equivalent of 650 full-time jobs and contribute £240m to the local economy!

Later today we’ll be showing you just how easy it is to support R Charity and it’s £10m appeal to go above and beyond the NHS promise of care. Click here if you’d like to get ahead and make a donation and support world-class care for everyone.

You can follow the amazing work R Charity is doing and check out the amazing fundraising events on Twitter @RCharityLpool