A HASLEMERE hospital that treats patients severely disabled by brain damage and spinal injuries, has received funding for building improvements costing more than £1million if it is given the green light by Waverley planners.

Holy Cross Hospital has submitted an application for an updated two-storey teaching facility to attract and retain the best clinical staff, which will also provide a central store to deliver piped oxygen to the many patients who require oxygen therapy.

The proposed development has been made possible by the charity The Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross of Liege, which owns the site and has offered to fund the new facility.

Holy Cross has a staff of more than 120 and provides 40 beds, the majority for patients funded by the NHS.

It hopes to replace an existing 40-year-old prefabricated bungalow with the new facility, which will be dug into the sloping site so it will not be higher than the existing buildings.

A second application has been submitted to replace an old timber garage in a wooded area on the site to create additional parking to meet extra demand for spaces due to the increasing number of people using the physiotherapy centre.

chief executive Chris Hinton said. “This is a very exciting opportunity for Holy Cross, which is probably the biggest single employer in Haslemere.

“The Sisters have freed up some capital and are keen to invest in the future of the hospital.

“Learning and development is a hugely important part of our work and we have been doing that in a 40 year-old bungalow.

“We want to create a purpose-built facility that will also ease the pressure on our other facilities by providing storage and office space.

“Holy Cross provides long-term care for people who have some of the most complex disabling conditions and we have to provide education on site for our staff because there is no reason why we could recruit people with the specific skills we need.

“Oxygen is provided in heavy, portable cylinders. To improve how we care for patients we propose to provide oxygen piped into each room from a central store.

“This will provide a safe and sustainable supply, saving staff time and money.

“Many patients require oxygen therapy and some of them require it continuously. All the indications are that the demand for our beds will continue.

“At the moment 37 of our 40 beds are occupied by patients funded by the NHS. We are an independent hospital that has always worked with public authorities.

“Quite often we admit patients from intensive care units at the Royal Surrey County and Frimley Park which means we can relieve pressure on their very precious intensive care units.

“We can take patients who need to breathe with the help of ventilators, and NHS clinical care commissioning groups save money by bringing them here.

“Holy Cross can treat patients from ICU units cheaper and it is much better for them to be here and for their families to visit them here. We feel by offering a specialised service and developing our facilities, we are offering something of real value to the local health economy.”

lFor more information and a link to the planning applications go to www. holycross.org.uk