NGH emergency department temporary building will improve the waiting experience

Northampton General Hospital has taken delivery of a temporary building today (Friday, January 6) which, once fully connected and staffed, will be used as an indoor heated streaming area for Emergency Department (ED) patients.

When the building comes fully on-line - due to be in the next two weeks - it will provide a much-improved waiting area for patients waiting to be streamed to the appropriate part of the ED.

Pressure on our ED department has been building throughout the year which has led to occasions where patients have queued outside to be streamed into the appropriate area of the department. The Trust recognised that waiting outside was unsatisfactory and it erected a temporary shelter in the Summer to protect patients from the weather.

As temperatures dropped we have been considering how best to provide an improved environment both in the short and longer term for patients waiting to be appropriately streamed.

Hospital Chief Executive Heidi Smoult said: “Waiting outside to be streamed into our ED is unsatisfactory and we have been working hard to develop a short-term solution to alleviate this by having a heated temporary building as a waiting area.

“Following a procurement process we are now taking delivery of that temporary building to provide a much-improved waiting environment for patients waiting for emergency care.

“It will take approximately two weeks to carry out the necessary work to ensure the building has appropriate heating, light, power, and CCTV coverage, and to ensure we are ready to open.

“We would like to apologise to all patients who have had difficult waiting experiences this year to due to our capacity constraints and thank them for their understanding.

“I also want to thank our amazing urgent care, ward and departmental teams, who continue to work extremely hard during one of the busiest periods in NHS history to support the healthcare needs of our local population.”

The hospital continues to emphasise that its Emergency Department is for people who are seriously ill and that much other appropriate healthcare support and advice is available through NHS 111, local GPs, and local pharmacists.

The hospital remains in critical incident today (Friday, January 6) and is asking local people to support its fight against COVID-19 and flu infections by wearing masks when attending hospital.