QEII Accident and Emergency Service Changes
From Monday 16th January 2012, changes are being made to the A&E services at the QEII hospital in Welwyn Garden City.
Hertfordshire Action on Disability understand that this could be of great concern to you, so please find below the details that have been circulated to us by East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.
Changes to the QEII’s adult and children’s A&E services
From Monday, 16 January 2012, the A&E services at the QEII hospital in Welwyn Garden City are changing:
- For adults, the current A&E service will continue to be available 8.00am and 8.000pm every day, but overnight the service will treat minor injuries only;
- For children aged between 12 months and 16 years of age, the QEII A&E service will now treat minor injuries that need urgent attention 24 hours a day, every day of the week;
- For babies 12 months who need to be taken to hospital, please go to the nearest specialist emergency department – which for most will be the 24/7 service at the Lister.
Whether an adult or child, if you are suffering from a mild illness you should still see your GP as normal, or contact the GP out-of-hours service at night or weekends by calling 03000 333 333. Alternatively you can call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 who can provide advice on what you should do.
If your injury or condition is felt to be serious, even life-threatening, please call 999 or go to the nearest hospital with a 24/7 emergency department – which for most people will be the Lister in Stevenage, where there is also a dedicated specialist children’s emergency department service.
Of course, if an adult or child is taken to the QEII and their condition deteriorates, staff will stabilise them before their transfer to the best place to receive their on-going care – normally the Lister.
These changes are part of a programme to bring together all of the Trust’s inpatient and emergency services at the Lister by 2014, when the investment of some £150 million will have transformed it into the main hospital for across east and north Hertfordshire. By the same time, NHS Hertfordshire will have created the new QEII hospital – which will provide local people with a range of outpatient, diagnostic, ante/post natal and community care services, as well as a new ‘Local A&E’ that will be able to treat the vast majority of people who need the current A&E service.
You can find out which NHS services are available in your area by visiting a new online resource for Hertfordshire –
www.wheredoigo.org.uk – or by contacting NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 for more information.