Overstetched Milton Keynes hospital to receive £10m upgrade

The government-funded unit will provide primary, community and acute care for frail elderly people and patients with "ambulatory care sensitive conditions" such as epilepsy, asthma and diabetes.

All these conditions, known as ACSC's, are illnesses where hospital admissions may be prevented by interventions in primary care. They also include influenza and pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ear, nose and throat infections and cellulitis.

The aim of the new unit will be to reduce hospital admissions by effectively treating acute conditions, providing good management of chronic illnesses, and immunising against infectious diseases.

Today the two Conservative MPs for Milton Keynes have welcomed the news that construction is about to begin on the new pathway unit.

Iain Stewart MP and Ben Everitt MP have been working closely with the Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to ensure investment in healthcare in Milton Keynes as the city continues to grow.

Both MPs welcome this investment as a sign of the government’s commitment to the NHS staff and patients within Milton Keynes. This will ensure residents of Milton Keynes can have access to have "world-class, state of the art facilities and care that are fit for the future", they say.

Iain Stewart MP said: “I am really pleased to see that construction work will start on this important facility at our hospital. Having this pathway unit, on the site of MKUH, will help to meet the healthcare needs for residents of MK."

Ben Everitt MP said: “It was only last week we celebrated MK’s 54th birthday and the city has grown so much in that time that it’s vital we ensure our healthcare is fit for the future and this Conservative government is doing exactly that.

“With the pathway unit under construction and a Children and Maternity Hospital planned for the next few years we are investing in Milton Keynes’ future.”

Construction on the pathway unit is due to begin on the 31st January.

Plans for the new £7.7m Children's and Maternity Hospital to be built on the existing hospital site were announced last September, but no start date has yet been given,

Meanwhile, the hospital's new £15m centre, which brings all cancer services together under one roof , opened last March.