Construction starts on Urgent Treatment Centre at Royal Sussex County Hospital
The facility at the Brighton-based hospital will treat those who don't need to be admitted.
The construction of a new Urgent Treatment Centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton gets underway today (Monday 20th September).
The facility, which will be built in front of the A&E department, will help improve services for everyone who comes to the department.
The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust says it will also focus on the care of patients who do not need to stay in hospital and increase the capacity in A&E for these patients and allow for better patient flow through all parts of the department.
This new centre follows on from the opening of 9 extra cubicles in the main body of A&E to care for patients who are more critically injured or unwell.
A new dedicated vehicle drop off area
As part of the project, a new, dedicated patient drop off area has been set close to the department.
If you are able to walk and arrive at A&E in a private vehicle or by taxi, you will be directed to this drop off area. From there a short, clearly marked route will lead to the front door of A&E.
If you arrive in a private vehicle or taxi and aren’t able to walk you will be given access to the ambulance area in front of the department.
Building the new Urgent Treatment Centre is vital to improving the service you receive in A&E, but for a while, the ambulance area outside the department will be very busy.
Traffic marshals will be on site 24 hours a day to direct drivers to the correct area.
Ambulances will still bring patients to the front of A&E as normal. The route for patients arriving on foot will also be unchanged.
How will I know where to go when the new building is complete?
All patients coming to A&E will use the main entrance of the department as usual. Patients will have an initial assessment in the main A&E building and then be shown to the correct part of the department.
Those requiring the Urgent Treatment Centre will be directed to the new building.
The Urgent Treatment Centre will be complete in the spring of 2022.