New facilities for patients needing urgent and emergency treatment have been officially opened at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

A new Acute Assessment Unit and Ambulatory Care Unit is now in use – providing improved facilities and more space for patient care.

The work to create the new unit, which forms phase 1 of the Hinchingbrooke Hospital Redevelopment programme, began in late Spring 2020 and continued despite the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Kanchan Rege, chief medical officer, who conducted the official opening ceremony, said: “I would like to thank our patients for bearing with us while this work took place in the department.

“Our teams have worked hard to manage the challenges of winter and the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic with reduced clinical space while the new treatment areas were created. Our new, spacious, department will enhance the experience for our patients and allow further development of the 'same day emergency care' model. It has also provided increased capacity for our acute medical patients.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the first phase of our redevelopment programme and for delivering it on budget and within the planned timeline.”