Ward changes planned for Saturday 18 October | News

On Saturday 18 October, several wards at Royal Surrey County Hospital will be reorganised as part of a wider plan to improve both efficiency and patient experience.

These changes reflect the hospital’s response to evolving patient needs, particularly an increase in frailty and oncology patients requiring inpatient care. By grouping patients with similar care needs together, we can provide more consistent, timely and specialist care in the most appropriate setting.

The ward changes include bringing all surgical patents together on level C, combining frailty, orthogeriatrics and stroke services on Level D and creating a second oncology ward on Level E, in what is currently Wisley Ward.

Wisley Ward will now become a second dedicated oncology ward at Royal Surrey. It will provide an additional 24 beds to support the rising number of cancer patients treated at the trust, which is now the fourth largest cancer centre in the country.

How this will affect patients

As part of this reorganisation, some inpatients will be moved to new wards on 18 October. Those affected will receive a letter to their bedside with full details, and will be given plenty of notice before the move. All aspects of their care will remain the same apart from their ward location.

Patients will be fully supported throughout the move to help make the transition as smooth as possible. Next of kin will be informed and ward reception desks will hold updated information to make sure that visitors are directed to the correct location. If patients or loved-ones have concerns, they are asked to contact the nurse in charge of the current ward.

These changes will not affect all inpatient wards and therefore, if patients do not receive a letter or any information about moving wards, they should be assured that their location will remain the same after 18 October.