Scunthorpe General Hospital opens £7.2m emergency care units

Emergency and acute care matron Lisa Norcup

Two emergency care units have opened at Scunthorpe General Hospital.

The same day emergency care and integrated acute assessment units are located next to the hospital's emergency department.

Patients can be referred to the units by their GPs or the NHS 111 service and the hospital trust said waiting times would be reduced.

The £7.2m development is part of a £65m investment in the region's healthcare, officials said.

Emergency and acute care matron Lisa Norcup said the new units would allow staff to send patients directly to the best clinician for their case.

"We have a team of senior clinicians from a range of disciplines based in these units, who are here for you if you're ill enough to need to come to hospital, but you've not been involved in an accident or emergency," she said.

"This means that we may not need to admit you into hospital at all and, if we do, it's likely to be for a shorter time."

Senior clinicians and nursing staff are based in the units

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said the new units mirrored facilities which opened in Grimsby earlier this year.

Group chief delivery officer Shaun Stacey said the new units were designed after consultation with staff to ensure "they have the space, facilities and equipment they need to do what they do best".

"There are more examination rooms and side rooms than we currently have, which helps us to isolate patients we're caring for who have infectious conditions."

The units were designed in consultation with staff, according to the trust

Mr Stacey added that the new units would make "a significant difference" to the patient experience at the hospital.

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