A NEW ward offering "much-needed" and "urgent clinical care" for kidney conditions is set to open, following the approval of plans at Basildon Hospital. 

The hospital has been given the green light for the demolition of a link corridor and the construction of a new single-storey extension to the hospital building.

The site for the new building is an informal car park area at the hospital. 

The new ward will provide space for up to 28 renal patients, as well as assessment rooms and staff areas. It will have 22 inpatient beds in four-bed bays, a single room, and a specialist bariatric room, as well as six outpatient treatment spaces and two dedicated procedure rooms for kidney biopsies.

The new space will replace services currently provided on the Elizabeth Fry ward and will provide additional space for people presenting to the emergency department with kidney problems, thereby speeding up access to urgent care.

The plans follow the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, which operates Basildon Hospital, being rated as one of the worst hospital trusts in the country. Last month, the new league tables revealed the hospital trust was rated 123rd out of 134 trusts in the first of the Labour government's new NHS league tables.

The unit is due to welcome its first patients in June 2026, with a phased transfer from Elizabeth Fry ward. Following this, the Elizabeth Fry ward will be refurbished to support more medical care beds for winter and provide space to move patients out of older wards, helping the trust make much-needed improvements to other wards at the hospital.

Dr Gowrie Balasubramaniam, renal consultant for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This is an exciting step forward for people with kidney disease and being able to move quickly to deliver is important.

"The new unit will be transformative, enabling us to deliver prompt, specialist care in a calm, modern environment, with space and resources we've needed for a long time."