Patient care will be transformed at Ipswich Hospital as a new Accident & Emergency department and Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) open.
The services move into a new building at the south end of the site today, Saturday 6 September.
The new, dedicated UTC will offer treatment for urgent but not life-threatening conditions, freeing up the A&E to focus on providing care for the most critically ill and seriously injured patients.
The new centre housing the A&E and UTC is called the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre. There is a single front door for all walk-in urgent and emergency patients, making sure they are seen and treated by the right team.
A new CT scanner will open in the centre next month, funded by Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity.
A theatre suite opened on the first floor of the building in July.
Paving the way for a new Musculoskeletal Department
The development means musculoskeletal services at the hospital move into the Garrett Anderson Centre ground floor where A&E has been. Spinal Services, Trauma and Orthopaedics and Rheumatology will be brought under one roof, putting specialists in one place and improving the environment for patients and staff.
The Spinal Services and Trauma and Orthopaedics teams open in the Garrett Anderson Centre on Monday, 9 September. Rheumatology will follow in the coming weeks.
