The new Royal Liverpool University Hospital will welcome its first patients today (Tuesday 4 October 2022) as outpatient services begin operating from the new building.
More than 360 patients are expected through the doors today and outpatient clinics will continue to operate throughout the week at the new hospital.
James Sumner, Chief Executive at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Today is a real milestone for the new Royal as we welcome our first outpatients to Liverpool’s new state-of-the-art hospital.
“The new Royal is for the people of Liverpool and the city region and we are so proud that we can start to give our patients, staff and local communities the long-awaited hospital they deserve.”
In order to allow patients time to familiarise themselves with their new hospital, outpatients will operate at a reduced capacity that will increase in stages over the next four weeks, with appointments being allocated according to clinical priority.
The outpatients department is located across the ground and lower ground floors of the new hospital, and these patients will be the first to use the new digital check-in which has been designed to speed up the appointment process.
The hospital is undertaking a phased 24-day move from the current Royal, which started on Wednesday 28 September, and the first inpatients will be transferred to the hospital on Monday 10 October.
During the move, staff and volunteers will be on hand to assist with any queries or wayfinding around the new building.
People are being asked to continue using the Emergency Department at the old Royal until later this month when the service transfers to the new building.
Health Minister Nick Markham said: “From today, patients will benefit from the new state-of-the-art outpatient facilities at the newly opened new Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Not only will this hospital improve care for patients across the city, staff will also be able to access specialist medical equipment and a world-leading research facility.
“We are committed to improving health infrastructure across the country and this is part of the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, which we will deliver by 2030.“The Health and Social Care Secretary has been clear that we will deliver for patients across the country and set out her ABCD priorities – ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists.”
Natalie Forrest, Senior Responsible Owner for New Hospital Programme said:“I am really excited that the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital is ready to serve the Merseyside community. It has been designed to create a healthy, healing environment and a landmark building at the gateway of the city.“The new state-of-the-art hospital will enable Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) to deliver excellent healthcare and help address the serious health inequalities that exist within Liverpool city region. It is one of 48 schemes within the New Hospital Programme that will be built across England by 2030.”
The new Royal has been designed to reflect the patient journey, placing key specialisms adjacent to each other, providing faster access to specialist care when required and improving patient flow through treatment.
The hospital has 640 beds with en-suite facilities, 18 state-of-the-art operating theatres, for both inpatient and day-case surgery and 40 critical care beds for patients in ICU (intensive care unit) and HDU (high dependency unit). In addition, a large clinical research facility will place LUHFT as a national and international leader in clinical trials and studies.