New Urgent Treatment Centre opens in Lincoln

As part of the transformation of emergency care at Lincoln County Hospital, patients needing urgent care are now being treated in a new £3.5 million purpose-built centre.

The new state-of-the-art Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) provides a bright and welcoming entrance for the whole of the emergency department, including a new reception and waiting area that follows the latest social distancing guidance, as well as 10 treatment rooms, a new X-ray and dedicated triage areas. The centre has been built next to the A&E department, allowing patients to be booked in at reception, assessed and treated in the right place for their needs.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Chief Executive, Andrew Morgan, said: “This has been a real team effort ever since the funding was announced in September last year. The final design has taken into account contributions by clinical and nursing staff from across the Trust and our partner organisations, as well as from patient experience and sensory impairment groups.

“Our colleagues from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) have been key to all of our plans as they will continue to manage the UTC, allowing our staff to care for and treat the sickest patients in the A&E department.”

The UTC’s Clinical Lead, Jeni Ives, said: “This centre will allow us to ensure our patients are seen in a timely manner by the right person, in the right place and will ensure that everyone receives the right level of care.”

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust Chief Executive, Maz Fosh, added: “This new UTC is brilliant news for our Urgent Care colleagues, as it will enable us to continue to deliver the best care to our patients and now in an environment that is fit for purpose and meets all of the current national standards.”

The completion of the UTC is the first phase in a programme of works that will transform the hospital’s emergency department. Other phases will see the expansion of the existing A&E department to include:

• A bigger resus area with twice as many bays for the sickest emergency patients.
• A new paediatrics area with its own dedicated waiting room, treatment cubicles and a sensory area for the youngest patients and their families.
• Additional treatment rooms for mental health patients.
• A new ambulance drop-off and bays created outside the front of the department with entrances directly into the resus and majors areas.
• Additional clinical space, meaning that the emergency department will be able to accept patients from ambulance crews with improved speed and safety.

Andrew added: “These developments will help us to see and treat our patients more quickly and ensure that everyone is getting the level of care that they require. All of these changes have taken place during the most challenging of times for both our patients and our staff. A massive thank you to everyone for your patience and co-operation so far, as this has allowed us to work with our contractors during a global pandemic to complete this first phase on schedule, despite all of the challenges.

“Work will now begin on the next phases to make sure the department is not only fit for today, but also for the future.”

The investment has been funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of an additional £150 million capital funding programme to expand and upgrade 25 A&Es to reduce overcrowding and improve infection control.