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Hospital opens new ward to boost bed numbers

Claire Bacon,Wiltshireand
Richard Crowley,BBC Radio Wiltshire, Great Western Hospital
BBC Large white rectangle building with open wooden doors and Hospital Ward written on the side in blue writing. Behind is the backdrop of the top of the hospital with glass windows and blue sky. In front of the temporary building is a yellow railing.BBC
The unit has air conditioning to combat the heatwave, with capacity for 20 patients

A hospital running close to capacity has opened a temporary facility to ease the pressure on bed space.

The medical short stay unit (MSSU) at the Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon, Wiltshire, has an extra 20 beds.

It is for people with minor conditions who can be treated within 72 hours.

Benny Goodman, chief operating officer at the hospital, said: "We need more space for patients given a growing and ageing population, so this short stay unit is the first step in that direction."

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Benny Goodman, chief operating officer, is facing the camera wearing a blue open collar shirt. He is standing in front of the hospital doors which are black frames with long glass windows. Above are the wards with beige brick and glass windows. He is standing on black tarmac in the car park which has yellow cross hatch lines on it. Over his left shoulder are two bright yellow and green ambulances parked outside the entrance to the hospital.
Goodman said the MSSU gives the hospital an "opportunity to increase the quality of care" given to patients

The opening of the unit comes during the third heatwave in as many months which has seen the hospital close to capacity.

It follows the busiest winter on record for the GWH, which led to long waits in emergency care services.

Currently, bed occupancy at the hospital sits about 98-100%, which exceeds the safe operational threshold of 85%.

A 2025 Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection at GWH found that "people were cared for in corridors for extended periods" due to a lack of bed space.

Last week, the most recent CQC inspection rated the GWH as good overall.

Councillor Vinay Manro said the MSSU is a "positive step" for Swindon residents but questioned whether "additional permanent capacity" is needed in the future.

He said during May's local elections, residents were asking if a "second hospital is needed" in Swindon.

Goodman said the MSSU gives them an "opportunity to increase the quality of care we're giving to patients over the coming months and years".

The hospital has a contract to keep the units in place for up to two years, but there is potential to extend that if permanent expansion is not viable.

Goodman told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "The capacity is here to stay, we're not going to be able to operate without an increase in capacity in the long term."

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