Improvements will be made after a six-figure cash injection
The emergency department at Basildon Hospital is set to double in size thanks to a £6million cah injection(Image: Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust)
An Essex hospital rated ‘inadequate’ has been given a six-figure cash injection to double the size of its emergency department. Basildon Hospital, which was rated as ‘inadequate’ by the CQC in October 2025, hopes that the expansion will reduce patient waiting times.
As part of its most recent inspection, the hospital’s Emergency Department was visited and rated overall as inadequate. Inspectors said patients were “at risk of ongoing harm” and that the leadership “was not effective in keeping people safe”.
The report says: “We rated safe and well-led as inadequate because people were at risk of serious harm and the leadership, oversight and governance was not effective in keeping people safe. We rated effective, caring and responsive as requires improvement.
“As a result of this assessment, we served a Section 31 notice to impose conditions on the provider’s registration because people would be at risk of harm if we did not take this action. We found 2 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and governance. We requested an action plan to address these concerns.”
With the new £6million funding, half will be used to more than double the size of the hospital’s Rapid Assessment, Triage and Treatment area, with eight new, larger assessment bays replacing the three currently in use. A dedicated space to help doctors start tests, treatments and referrals sooner, reducing delays for patients arriving at the Emergency Department will also be added.
The remaining £3million will fund the replacement of the department’s 20-year-old roof, helping to protect clinical areas from water damage and the effects of bad weather. The new roof structure will improve insulation and lighting and have a more sustainable covering. Work on the extension is expected to begin in September and be completed by spring next year.
Maimuna Mushabe, Interim Chief Executive of Basildon Hospital, said: “We have already seen the benefits of bigger assessment facilities at Southend Hospital. Increasing our ambulance handover and assessment capacity at Basildon will help cut waiting times, improve patient flow through the Emergency Department and ensure people receive care more quickly.”
Basildon Emergency Department Matron, Danielle Stephenson, said: “This will make a huge difference to our patients and our staff. It means we will be able to give the care we want to deliver in a place that’s fit for modern healthcare practice.”
The department will remain open throughout the project.