Progress on £30m Wolverhampton emergency centre helping staff morale

New Cross Hospital is building the unit, which will include an A&E unit three times the size of the current one.

The hospital has endured unprecedented demand in its A&E unit.

Chief executive David Loughton said the current situation was worse than ever.

But there is light on the horizon in the form of the new Emergency Centre, which bosses hope will revolutionise the hospital's emergency care services.

Patients will be guided either to A&E, a walk-in centre or to a GP primary care service.

One of the reasons A&E units up and down the country have been besieged with extra patients is that too many struggle to get GP appointments and end up at A&E because they know they will be treated within hours.

However the New Cross model will help ease the flow of patients going to A&E, chiefs hope.

The Emergency Centre is due to open in November this year.

Head of estates development Mike Goodwin said: "Everything is progressing really well.

"It's all on track to open in November this year.

"The steelwork is complete and the floors are connected.

"The main structural frame is also complete and it's starting to tower over the New Cross site.

"Given how tough A&E conditions are it will be a huge morale boost for staff.

"Everyone at the trust is looking forward to seeing the project finished."

Around 70 people are working on bringing the building to life.

It will connect to the hospital's renowned Heart and Lung Centre.

New Cross has continuously failed to hit A&E targets in recent months, leading to six-figure fines.

Mr Loughton was frank in his assessment of the A&E unit last week when he said: "It's the worst I've seen in my career."

"I tell my staff they've got my highest admiration. The one thing I keep seeing is ambulances leaving the hospital not to go back to base, but with their blue lights flashing, going to another patient. It's incessant. It never ends."