Southport hospital discharge lounge welcomes first patient

Going home from hospital just got a whole lot better at Southport and Formby District hospital.

The ribbon was cut this week on a new £1.1m discharge lounge next to the main entrance.

It is the last stop for patients before leaving for home or their place of care, freeing up ward beds for newly-admitted patients.

The first patient through the door was Richard Tydd, of Southport, who was greeted with balloons and flowers by Junior Sister Michelle Durney and Chief Operating Officer Lesley Neary.

Lesley said: “The discharge lounge has had many homes at Southport over the years and we’re delighted the team have now got their own dedicated space.

“For patients, it means a new, more spacious, high quality environment at the front of the hospital that’s easy for families and carers to find.

“Understandably, the challenging work our A&E team faces gets a lot of attention, but it is the work of the discharge team that keep patients flowing through the hospital.”

In June, 77.6% of patients were admitted, transferred or treated within four-hours of arriving at A&E, making Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust the best-performing acute NHS trust in Cheshire and Merseyside.

“With this enhanced discharge lounge, we hope to do even better,” added Lesley.