24 April 2019

Work has started on a new Doctors’ Mess which is being created at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.

It is hoped that the new facility will provide a welcoming and caring environment for staff, and also help recruitment to The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the PRH and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The new mess is being developed within the hospital and will replace the current outdated facility based in a bungalow outside the main hospital.

The aim is to create a welcoming space for doctors to rest and network 24-hours-a-day – with an official opening planned for May.

Dr Jenni Rowlands, Director for Postgraduate Education at SaTH, said: “The Doctors’ Mess is currently housed within a bungalow outside. This means that a lot of the doctors who can’t leave the hospital for emergency reasons can’t ever get to the mess; they do not feel safe to go over at night and they do not have a cohesive meeting area within the hospital.

“The new mess will provide this and give them somewhere to rest, and an area where they can build relationships and network with other doctors.

“The doctors are just amazed that this is being created. They are really looking forward to having a dedicated place to rest, being able to network with people from other departments and having a space away from pressure of the ward areas.”

It comes in addition to two further two doctors’ houses being refurbished at PRH to provide more free accommodation for junior doctors – bringing the total number of renovated properties to six.

Two of the houses, all of which are being revamped following an appeal by Telford & Wrekin Council along with voluntary help and the support of the community, have just been completed. Work on another two is under way, with the final pair being renovated later this year.

Dr Rowlands said: “The doctors are very grateful to everyone for their efforts in refurbishing these houses. As a result of the re-development, there has been interest from final year medical students who even without an advertising campaign have heard of the offer, and are interested in requesting to work at this site, which is great news.”

The doctors’ houses have been completely stripped and refurbished to include new kitchens and bathrooms, paintwork and furniture. The kitchens have also been knocked through to create a new social area for the doctors.

Each house will accommodate four doctors and will be provided for free to Foundation Year 1 doctors and other specialities which are hard to recruit to.

Anyone who would like to donate to the project can still do so by contacting NHS4All@telford.gov.uk.