WORK has begun on the new £2.2 million stroke unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, which will see rehabilitation moved under the same roof as acute care for the first time.

Building work to revamp wards 27 and 28 is due to finish in late October, merging the previous 28-bed acute stroke unit and 24-bed stroke rehabilitation unit at Christchurch Hospital into a new 36-bed facility.

The reason for the overall reduction in bed numbers is that patients are expected to have shorter stays in hospital, receiving care from the community stroke service after they have been discharged.

The new unit will have a dining room, and a lounge/ group therapy area.

Most bays will have four beds instead of the usual six, and each bay will have its own shower and toilet.

All the bed spaces and most of the shower rooms will be equipped with overhead hoist systems, and there will be therapy rooms on the ward. Therapy will be available seven days a week instead of the current five.

The hospital trust says the unit has been designed in such a way that it will never have to close during an outbreak of infection.

Acute stroke patients can be fast-tracked to the unit for assessment and those who have clot-busting treatment will receive high dependency care in a monitored bay.

The hope is that patients will benefit from being cared for by an expert team on one site.

Consultant stroke nurse Clare Gordon predicted the combined stroke unit would produce better clinical outcomes, adding: “Staff working within the service are able to see the whole of the stroke patient pathway, leading to increased job satisfaction and an opportunity to see the benefits of their care longer term.”