Permission granted for new urgent treatment centre

The new unit is due to be built in Cliftonville Road, alongside the existing emergency department

A hospital has obtained planning permission for a project which it says will transform its urgent treatment and emergency care facilities.

Northampton General Hospital (NGH) said the development would replace the existing Springfield urgent treatment centre, which opened in 2017, and the portable buildings at the entrance to the emergency department, which have been in place since 2023.

Costing nearly £16m, it will be built near the Cliftonville Road entrance and will join the existing emergency department with the Nye Bevan building.

NGH said the facility would "provide a modern, central hub for patients needing urgent and lifesaving care", and it expected it to be completed next summer.

Polly Grimmett, director of strategy at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire said she was delighted it could press ahead with the project.

"Being able to expand and permanently upgrade our urgent and emergency care facilities is an important milestone for the future of our hospital and for our local community," she said.

"By having this new facility, we will be able to provide care in a modern environment and improve the experience our patients have when needing urgent or lifesaving care."

Groundworks have already started at the site, NGH said.

The hospital said it had secured nearly £11m for the project from the Return to Constitutional Standards Programme.

As a result of the work, the existing entrance will move to new portable buildings in the space behind the Nye Bevan building.