New A&E departments in Grimsby and Scunthorpe

Hospitals in Yorkshire and the Humber region are set to receive £10m to upgrade A&E services ahead of the difficulties expected in the coming winter months, according to a report by Capital FM.

Funds are expected to be used to improve infection control and reducing overcrowding.

Additionally, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust have announced that new A&E departments will be built at both Diana Princess of Wales Hospital and Scunthorpe General Hospital.

They are set to open in 2022, and are being supported by a £8m pound investment from the Department of Health and Social Care.

In November 2019, NHS England also requested £24.8 million of capital funding to build two new acute assessment units.

At Scunthorpe a totally new department will be built on land which is currently a car park on the Cliff Gardens side of the hospital.

In Grimsby the current emergency department will be refurbished as well as extended at the front.

Both departments will also link to purpose-built acute assessment units which will help improve the care and flow of patients through the hospitals.

It will also ensure people are seen by the right professional in the right place at the right time.

At Princess Diana of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, work is already underway to open a new innovative CT building which will be ready in January 2021.

Construction is also progressing on the new purpose-built MRI suite.

It is scheduled to open in April 2021.

At Scunthorpe General Hospital, planning is in its final stages to extend the existing Blue Sky Imaging Suite, which will also include a new MRI scanner.

Peter Reading, chief executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“This investment in our emergency care services will completely transform the environment for our patients and staff. In the past six months our staff have gone above and beyond to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. They have done an amazing job.

“The effects of the pandemic continue to be felt across our hospitals and these new buildings will include more isolation rooms and more waiting areas so we can ensure our patients are treated safely and quickly.

“Alongside the investment and building work we have done, and are now doing, to house new scanners, this cash is a game changer for our emergency care services. We have a lot of work to do to get these new facilities designed and built, but I know our teams are up for that and will pull out all the stops to get this work done as soon as we can.

“I’d like to thank our local MPs and councils for their ongoing support in securing this investment and as we look to secure further investment in our hospitals.

“In two years’ time our patients will be able to be treated in state-of-the art emergency facilities and the staff in our emergency departments can enjoy an environment purpose-built for the care they want to provide. We can’t wait to get started on the building work.”