New Same Day Emergency Care Unit to be built at Bedford Hospital

Date: 29/01/2025 | Category: Redevelopment news

Patients, staff and the local community are set to benefit from a new Same Day Emergency Care Unit (SDEC) on the Bedford Hospital South Wing site, with construction work starting in the coming weeks.

The SDEC will allow healthcare specialists, where appropriate, to assess, diagnose and treatment patients on the same day of arrival, who would otherwise have been admitted to the hospital.

The NHS continues to pursue more efficient models of care that drive improvements for our community, ultimately providing the right care, in the right place, delivered by the right healthcare professional. The proposed SDEC unit will enable this to happen and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

The building, which will be located opposite the Emergency Department (ED), is expected to open to patients in the Autumn of 2025.

David Carter, Chief Executive of Bedfordshire Hospitals said: “As the population grows, and population growth in Bedfordshire is significantly higher than the national average, the demand on NHS urgent and emergency services increases.

“The development of the new SDEC will allow us to assess, diagnose and treat a high volume of urgent patients each day, in a timely manner, alleviating the pressure on our Emergency Department.”

Dr Tom Larsen, Clinical Director of the Emergency Department at Bedford Hospital, said: “With the creation of the new SDEC, not only will we be able to treat patients in the most appropriate way on the same day, but the patient experience will improve without the need to be admitted into the hospital.”

The new SDEC facility will be delivered by offsite construction specialist, Merit, using advanced Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), with more than 80% of this technically complex build taking place off-site at Merit’s factory in Northumberland. This approach will shorten the construction time on the busy hospital grounds, minimising disruption and enhancing project efficiencies, resulting in a faster, more efficient, and more sustainable building process.

CGI of new SDEC at Bedford Hospital

Computer generated image of the new SDEC