UP to three patients a day will be transported from Broomfield Hospital to Basildon’s specialist cardiology unit as the hospitals work together to ease pressure this winter.

There will be an additional 37 beds at Basildon Hospital, and 26 new beds at Broomfield Hospital, as both hospitals team up in a bid to improve and speed up care.

Under the scheme, emergency cardiology patients will be transferred from Broomfield Hospital to the specialist cardiology unit based at Basildon Hospital.

It is proposed that two to three patients will be transferred from Broomfield Hospital to the cardiothoracic centre per day between December 2019 and May 2020.

To combat the additional patients, 13 extra beds will be created at the specialist cardiology unit.

It is hoped the additional transfer of patients will relieve Broomfield Hospital from added strain this winter.

To cope with the additional demand, there will be a team, of cardiology consultants and senior doctors in the Basildon unit round the clock seven days a week.

It is hoped this will allow for speedier treatment and a higher turnover as patients recover quicker.

Tom Abell, deputy chief executive for mid and south Essex university hospital group, said: “We want to improve hospital care this winter. To do this we are making a number of changes to provide more beds at hospitals, alongside a number of service changes such as the creation of an emergency vascular centre at Basildon and the transfer of emergency cardiology patients from Broomfield to Basildon.

“All emergency cardiology patients from mid Essex will continue to follow the current patient route to Broomfield Hospital where they will be assessed.”

The new beds and transfer scheme links in to the upcoming merger of Broomfield Hospital, Basildon Hospital and Southend Hospital. Services are set to be merged by April next year, with this scheme being used as a test to see how the hospitals can work together practically.