New Scunthorpe Emergency Department opens today

The first patients have been welcomed to the new Scunthorpe Emergency Department (A&E) – just five months after the opening of its sister facility in Grimsby.

The £17.3 million unit has almost doubled the size of the existing department, providing modern, well-equipped facilities that are purpose built to meet the needs of North Lincolnshire communities.

The development is part of a wider £101 million programme to improve facilities across Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Trust and has:

• More than doubled the capacity of the waiting area to cope with demand and social distancing requirements
• Created a dedicated play area for their younger patients
• More cubicles, which have been designed to enable flexible use, which will help us manage surges in patient numbers and make it easier to meet individual patient needs.
• A dedicated ambulance bay, reducing the time to transfer patients arriving by ambulance into the hospital.

Scunthorpe Emergency Department has received a £17m makeover | Photo: NLAG NHS Trust

Senior Responsible Officer for the project and Director of Estates and Facilities, Jug Johal, has overseen the project.

He said: “I am incredibly proud of the works we’re doing to improve our emergency care facilities across Northern Lincolnshire.

“It will always be our number one priority to give you excellent care, and this new unit doesn’t just look fantastic, but will give our teams the space, facilities, and equipment they need to provide this.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in getting us to this stage, from the clinical staff who have been instrumental in getting the finer details right, to all our teams who have been working flat out to get everything ready for today.

“I’m also delighted that we have been able to incorporate the memorial stonework from one of our oldest buildings into the new department’s façade.

“Unfortunately, in order to build the new department, we needed to demolish some of our older buildings, including the Administration Block which had been part of the original Scunthorpe and District War Memorial Hospital.

New Scunthorpe Emergency Department: Some of the beautiful murals in our paediatric cubicles, funded by the Health Tree Foundation | Photo: NLAG NHS Trust

“This included the striking archway over the main entrance, which included the inscription Scunthorpe General Hospital and a 1929 date stone, along with memorial cornerstones bearing the dates 1914 and 1918 in memory of those lost in the First World War.

“As such, we felt it was only right to preserve this memorial to their bravery and sacrificeand incorporate it into the new building.”

Mr Johal added: “It’s also important to remember that this is just the first phase of a larger programme of works.

“As at Grimsby, our construction partners Kier, are now working on the next stage of our transformation of emergency care – converting our old Emergency Department into a new bespoke area to house our Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC), and Acute Assessment Units – and, again, this process will be replicated here in Scunthorpe.

“Once complete, these will help us to ensure that you get the right care, from the right clinician more quickly.

“It is not always necessary for some patients to go into the Emergency Department at all, as we can potentially direct you straight to one of these areas.

“Having these areas co-located with our Emergency Department will make a huge difference, as it will help us to ensure you are seen by the best clinician for your needs more quickly.”

(L to R) Medical Director Dr Anwer Qureshi; CEO Peter Reading; Senior Project Manager for Kier Sean Hammonds, Kier Contracts Manager Peter Collins, Operational Matron Zoe Powell-Wiffen and Director of Estates and Facilities and Senior Responsible Officer for the programme, Jug Johal | Photo: NLAG NHS Trust

Chief Executive Officer, Peter Reading, added: “The addition of this excellent new Emergency Department to our hospital is part of our ongoing commitment to investing in the long-term healthcare of our communities across northern Lincolnshire and Goole.

“We are also working on making further improvements to our services, including refurbishing three of our operating theatres – one in Scunthorpe and two in Grimsby – and improving our diagnostic facilities by investing in new mammography, fluoroscopy, Gamma Camera, and Maxillofacial equipment.”

Mr Reading added; “I would also like to thank all those who gave so generously to the Health Tree Foundation appeal to raise funds for additional facilities for patients coming into our Emergency Departments.

“As a result of your generosity, our new Emergency Departments have interactive flooring in the paediatric waiting area; information screens, and gaming consoles to help keep younger patients and children accompanying relatives entertained.

“You won’t have to worry about your phone battery dying, as you will have access to a free mobile charging bank, to help you keep in touch with loved ones.

“And, in the treatment areas, we have beautiful murals and Sky Inside panels to help put you at your ease.”