Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital
| Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | |
 Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital | |
  Shown in Northumberland | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Cramlington, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 55°4′27″N 1°34′9″W / 55.07417°N 1.56917°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Type | Specialist Accident & Emergency |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
| History | |
| Opened | June 2015 |
| Links | |
| Website | Northumbria Healthcare |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is a hospital specialising in emergency care for sick and injured patients, opened in 2015 in Cramlington, Northumberland, England by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Hospital
The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is the first NHS hospital purpose-designed to care for emergency cases. It brings together specialists across multiple emergency medicine disciplines, has 24-hour cover from emergency consultants and is fully staffed on a 7-day per week basis.[1][2][3]
The hospital, which opened on 16 June 2015, cost £75 million to build, with a further £5 million spent on road improvements in the vicinity. An additional £15 million was spent on state-of-the-art diagnostic tools including static and portable digital x-ray systems, two CT scanners and an MRI scanner. The hospital is arranged with specialist wards for surgery, trauma, cardiology, respiratory, stroke and gastrointestinal cases, and has an acute medical unit and a birthing centre.[1][2][3][4]
The intention of Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust is to consolidate the practise of emergency medicine at a single centre of excellence to improve patient outcomes. The opening of the hospital has led to accident and emergency facilities being downgraded in other Northumbria NHS hospitals including the Wansbeck, Hexham, and North Tyneside.[1][3] The trade-off between better facilities and consultant cover, versus longer drive-times to reach the hospital, has been the subject of some controversy and criticism.[5]
It was announced in November 2018 that a new building would be constructed off site by the McAvoy Group, linked to the hospital, to house a purpose-designed 2,000 square metre ambulatory care unit with the capacity to treat up to 150 patients a day without the need for hospital admission.[6]
In February 2021 the trust launched a court case against Lendlease after significant structural defects were identified in the building. This has triggered counterclaims by Lendlease against several of its sub-contractors, including Balfour Beatty, over which firm is liable for the defects. The trust claims it will cost around £65 million to fully rectify them and they will need temporary facilities into which patients can be decanted while the remedial works are carried out. [7]
References
- ^ a b c Thompson, Criag (22 May 2015). "Look at Cramlington's new £95million hospital for North Tyneside and Northumberland". Chronicle. Trinity Mirror North East Ltd. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ a b Sharma, Sonia (16 June 2015). "Cramlington hospital's first day hailed a success as patients start receiving emergency treatment". Chronicle Live. Trinity Mirror North East Ltd. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ a b c "First NHS emergency care hospital opens in Cramlington". BBC News website. BBC. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital". Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Halle, Martyn; Fifield, Nicola (22 November 2015). "Picture that shames Britain: Patients queue in corridor 'for hours' just to SIGN IN for A&E". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Offsite construction methods will be used to build new hospital wing". Building Better Healthcare. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- ^ "Trust battles global firm in £100m court fight over 'substantial defects' at flagship NHS hospital". Health Service Journal. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.