WITH a new £33million hospital to be built in Bridgwater by 2014, Mercury reporter ANGELA BRENNAN took a look round the existing 199-year-old facility in Salmon Parade to see why a modern version is needed.WHEN it rains in Bridgwater, parts of the Community Hospital leak.

Along with a lack of space for storage and equipment, staff encounter problems on a daily basis which can make their jobs more difficult.

While senior medical staff are quick to point out that patient safety is in no way at risk at the hospital, a new building is sorely needed.

Senior matron Helen Mattock said: “We’ve outlived this place. The leaks and space restrictions are the two main challenges.

“There are problems because of the age of the building and the amount of maintenance needed, which is extremely costly.

“It leaks when it rains and we have a company who patch it up, but then it moves somewhere else.

“It can be disruptive because we end up having to move beds around, trying to keep people away from the leaky parts.

“The in-patient area can be challenging with the use of hoists, which are large, and hospital beds, so it’s difficult to get around. Storage also tends to be in corridors.

“There isn’t enough space in the eye clinic – patients have to have their tests while sitting in a separate room.

“The quality of service is good, but we’re held back by the limitations of an old building.

“I’m looking forward to having a new building and the staff are really excited by it.”

The new £33million project was ann-ounced last week after Health Secretary Andrew Lansley approved £16million of Government funding for the hospital with the remainder of the bill being picked up by health authorities in Som-erset.

The new facility, which will be built off Bower Lane on the east side of the town, will cost £33million and is expected to be completed by 2014.

But there is a conservation order on the front façade of the building, which has to remain in place.

In the rehabilitation area, senior community physiotherapist Lana Wand said the current lack of space proved problematic.

She said: “We have to clear the area away before we can use the treadmill.

“There’s also a relaxation part [to treatment], and we get quite a lot of people coming in and out, and the phone ringing.

“There’s also a clinical area, which is just sectioned off with curtains. People may need privacy, but they can still be heard.

“The storage space is across the car park, and we have to go out and collect things from the container. Parking is a massive issue.

“We have to go out and about in the community to visit patients, but when we come back it can take around 20 minutes to find a parking space, which is a real waste of our time.

“In the summer it can get really hot in here. A new building, with air conditioning, would be lovely.”

Senior radiographer Fiona Nelson moved to the hospital in December last year from West Mendip Community Hospital, which is a new build.

She said: “West Mendip was a much nicer, fresher, lighter place for people to come to and there was a lot of car parking.

“I’m looking forward to working in a new build again and the whole process.

“There will be no little corridors and dark areas.

“It’s an exciting thing for Bridgwater – it’s a busy hospital and they deserve this.

“They’ve waited a long time for it.”