A virtual reality dome, allowing people to experience the new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre that will be built at University Hospitals Plymouth, has been installed at Derriford.
The Centre is part of the government’s plans to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.
Patients, staff, and community groups are taking the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new state-of-the-art facilities. The new centre will improve Derriford Hospital’s capacity to treat patients from across Devon and Cornwall in a timely way, in the most up to date healthcare environment.
The new building is brought to life as a film of the space is projected across the dome. During a virtual reality walk through, visitors can experience the flow of the building, and staff can see what their future workspace will look like.
Future Hospitals Programme Lead at UHP, Nicola Collas, said: “We’ve had a great response to the dome experience, with people excited about the prospect of working in a state of the art, purpose-built facility. Bringing the project to life in this way has really allowed everyone to see with their own eyes how this project will make a huge difference for patients, staff, and the community”.
UHP Future Hospital Director, Stuart Windsor said: “We know there are increasing numbers of patients who need urgent and emergency care, so to see this new facility; the increased space it will offer for people who need it most, is brilliant.
“It’s been a key for us to invite our staff, stakeholders and patient groups along to experience this and we’re really excited about the plans for transforming care for patients through investment in our clinical services, as well as through digital transformation.”
The new building, which is a New Hospital Programme scheme, will offer facilities for same emergency care for people who don’t need to be admitted to hospital. It also includes state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment to support faster diagnosis as well as new interventional radiology theatres and surgical theatres to be able to treat patients more quickly.
View the footage from the virtual reality experience below:
Source: Plymouth Hospitals
