The accident and emergency (A+E) department at Royal Berkshire Hospital is set to be transformed to make more space for those waiting to see a doctor.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust wants to create two waiting areas to clearly segregate adults and children and therefore need to create a bigger lobby to allow entrances to both waiting areas.

The plans will also help to provide more capacity, additional treatment rooms and bays, improved flow and reduced clutter, according to the trust.

Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has predicted there will be a 10 per cent increase in patients visiting the department this winter.

The trust has submitted plans to Reading Borough Council (RBC) to reconfigure the department.

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Medical Architecture has submitted an explanation of the plans on behalf of the trust.

The planning statement says: “The current emergency department is undersized for the present capacity and is inadequate to meet the needs of the patients and staff

“The suggested improvements are crucial to provide more capacity, additional treatment rooms and bays, improved flow and reduced clutter.”

Reading Chronicle:

As the department is always in operation, invasive construction work would be kept to a minimum.

The A+E department is located in the centre block of the hospital, with access from Craven Road.

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There are no proposed changes to the existing access routes and no alterations to the existing car parking arrangements.

The current size of the lobby is 18.9m2, while the new entrance space will be 39.3 m2.