Changes to A&E access during improvement works

The changes are being made due to the construction of a new urgent treatment centre

The way to access the A&E department at Worthing Hospital will be changed until June 2025, the hospital says.

The changes are being made due to the construction of a new, relocated Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), the NHS University Hospitals Sussex Trust said.

The UTC is being built within an expansion of the hospital’s emergency department, moving away from its current location opposite the X-ray department.

Due to restricted space during the build and to minimise overcrowding, visiting restrictions will be in place whilst the work is happening.

From 14 October, all patients will be allowed only one person to accompany them when attending A&E.

The entrance to A&E will also change after 4 November and a temporary pedestrian path will also be introduced.

'Waiting times'

The new UTC will see an estimated 40,000 patients a year and will help ensure people are being treated in the right place, by the right medical professionals, at the right time, the trust said.

Worthing Hospital Director, Stephen Mardlin, said: “We’ll have a slicker, smoother process for patients in a larger emergency department, with a new UTC right at the front door of the hospital.

“This development will free up capacity in the A&E, improve efficiency, improve waiting times, and we’ll be able to see more people, more efficiently.”