Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust have received £340,000 from a £100m Government capital investment fund. It is to support the introduction of ‘primary care streaming’ in A&E departments. This will enable patients to be seen more quickly at the busiest times.
The Chief Operating Officer of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation, Robert Harrison, said: This capital funding will enable us to redesign the area just within the front entrance to the Emergency Department.
We will put in place a confidential area for patients to be clinically assessed as to whether they need to be seen within the Emergency Department or whether we can direct them round to our GP Out of Hours service.
This will be in place at the times when patients own GP Practices are closed and we see a higher proportion of people attending the ED who should be seen by a GP.
This funding will allow us to also improve the rooms which GPs use to provide this service.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones said: Wherever I go people have nothing but praise for our local hospital. Indeed the staff have won national plaudits for the quality of care given.
That is why I am so pleased to see this extra funding going in to A&E to support that hard work and to further improve the patient’s experience. This investment is particularly important to A&E as this is often the place where patients go when they feel most vulnerable and most in need of support.
Robert Harrison, said: The Hospital also recently received capital funding which enabled the extension of the Emergency Department, creating an additional 5 treatment cubicles, this assisted our staff to deliver the national Standard of 95% of patients to be seen and discharged or admitted within 4 hours.
We anticipate this funding will further improve the environment for patients, ensuring they can be seen by the most appropriate professional and support our staff in continuing to deliver the national standards for the people who use our services.
People should still refer to their local GP during the day for non-emergency treatment. For Minor Injuries, there is the Minor Injuries Unit in Ripon that is open between 8am and 7pm each day.
