Public urged to use services wisely

After many years of planning and staged implementation, the new Emergency Department at Sunderland Royal Hospital opened its doors in June.

Formerly known as A&E, the new Emergency Department is there to treat patients with serious or life-threatening conditions. It is located at the front of the hospital and can be easily accessed from Kayll Road or Chester Road.

With dedicated facilities for children and adults and state-of-the-art technology to speed up diagnosis and treatment, healthcare bosses are urging people to use the new service wisely and to keep the Emergency Department free for those who need it most.

Anthony Watson, Matron and Project Lead for Emergency Care, said: “We would like to thank the public for their patience during the development of our new Emergency Department. Despite the geographical split of the department during the transition phase, patients and staff were absolutely fantastic. By having one dedicated space moving forward, we will be able to greatly improve patient flow and treat those with serious or life threatening conditions more efficiently.

“The concept of one accident and emergency department is changing. We now have urgent care centres across the city, which can provide things like X-rays, which before have only been available in hospitals.

“Our Emergency Department is a very busy unit, generally seeing around 105,000 patients every year. For this reason we need to appeal to the public and ask them to consider whether they really need emergency care, or if the NHS 111 service, an urgent care centre, GP or pharmacy would be a more appropriate option.

“We must always prioritise those with the greatest clinical need. This includes people with significant injury and blood loss, chest pain, breathing difficulties and suspected stroke. Anyone coming into the Emergency Department with minor illness or injury is more likely to have a much longer wait, or to be referred to another NHS service. We would urge you to choose well and help us to dedicate our time and resources to the people who really need it the most. If you’re not sure you can call NHS 111 for free and they will assess your symptoms and direct you to the right medical care.”

Urgent care centres, open Mon - Fri 10am – 10pm and Sat, Sun and bank holidays 8am – 10pm. • Pallion Health Centre, Hylton

Road, Sunderland, SR4 7XF • Washington Primary Care Centre,

Parkway, Washington, NE38 7QZ • Bunny Hill Primary Care Centre,

Downhill, Sunderland, SR5 4BW • Houghton Primary Care Centre,

Houghton-Le-Spring, DH4 5HB