Captain Sir Tom Moore Pleural Procedure room opened

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, has taken time out of his busy schedule to officially open a new state-of-the-art £4.5 million unit at Lincoln County Hospital.

The unit has been designed with 10 side rooms, all equipped with high-tech video technology and monitoring equipment. It means the team will be able to provide patients with non-invasive ventilation and other specialist respiratory treatments.

The unit will also be home to the Captain Sir Tom Moore Pleural Procedure room, which will treat both inpatients and outpatients from across the county who have diseases of the lining of the lung.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Chief Executive, Andrew Morgan, said: “This unit is all side rooms, reducing the need for staff to enter unnecessarily, meaning they will help us to control the spread of infection. This will not only really help us when treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, but will also provide a fantastic facility to deliver a modern, high quality respiratory service for the future.”

Staff and contractors welcomed Professor Van-Tam as he entered the new unit. He thanked everyone for their ongoing hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said: “Thank you for the terrific honour to come back to Lincoln County Hospital to open the specialist respiratory unit, as this is something very close to my heart because of the pandemic and also because I have asthma. It is fantastic to see this happening, with this high-tech and cutting edge facility which will very much put you on the map.

“Thank you to all staff at the hospital. As a specialist respiratory team you have been very much on the frontline of this for 18 months and the pandemic is not over yet. A big thank you.”

The respiratory unit was built by ModuleCo Ltd at its Gloucestershire Assembly Facility and was then delivered in sections to the hospital, before being craned into position over a 72-hour period. It is hoped the unit will be able to welcome patients later this summer, once final touches have been completed.

Matron, Donna Gibbins, added: “We have been working hard for a long time to improve our respiratory service and the opening of this new specialist unit will transform the care we can provide to the patients of Lincolnshire. Bringing this to reality is a real honour for everyone involved.” 

A second Captain Sir Tom Moore Pleural Procedure room has been installed and is already being used by patients from across the county at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston.