New £46m KGH Urgent Care Hub given Government approval

L-R Kettering MP Philip Hollobone with KGH Chief Executive Simon Weldon and
Health Minister Edward Argar on October 7 — L-R Kettering MP Philip Hollobone with KGH Chief Executive Simon Weldon and Health Minister Edward Argar on October 7

The announcement was made by health minister Edward Argar (Wednesday) in Parliament and will enable local people to access GP, mental health and A&E services appropriately all under one roof.

The hospital's A&E department currently sees more than twice the number of patients it was built for.

Kettering General Hospital’s chief executive, Simon Weldon, said: “This is fantastic news for the people of north Northamptonshire and for the staff at our hospital.

The current entrance to the relatively small A&E department, which was built for fewer than half of the patients that it sees today.

“Building an Urgent Care Hub is exactly what we need to address the significant growing demand for emergency care in an area that is one of the fastest growing in England in terms of population and housing.

“Our existing A&E department was designed for 40,000 people 25 years ago and this year is set to see 100,000.

“As a result it is often overcrowded leading to clinical, patient flow and privacy and dignity issues and a poor working environment for staff.

“The Urgent Care Hub is designed to address all of that and enable local people to access the appropriate services for their needs in one key location.”

The new care hub will support the appropriate use of NHS care with patients diverted to primary care through the primary care zone if this is the most appropriate destination for them.

More details on how the hub would work will develop as the plan comes forward.

The announcement was made after Kettering's MP Philip Hollobone raised the urgent need for it to meet growing demand.

In response Mr Argar described his recent visit to Kettering General Hospital and his tour of the A&E department and said how much he admired the work done by staff and the way they have dealt with the difficulties of rising demand. He also cited the amazing work done every day by our staff and the compelling case set out by the KGH team for a new development.

He said: “I am delighted to inform the House and Honourable Members that in the next capital review £46m for the Urgent Care Hub has been approved by Her Majesty’s Government.”

Government officials and NHS England will contact the trust to enable work to on the project to proceed as swiftly as possible.

Kettering General Hospital’s chief operating officer, Jo Fawcus, said: “When it is complete this development will have enormous benefits for local people and for hospital staff.

“It will be a high quality purpose-built unit which can help us improve patient flow and address all of our privacy, dignity concerns and space issues.

“It will support appropriate care for patients with people being directed to the right clinicians for their need whether that be GPs, mental health professionals or specialist hospital staff.

“It will be a shining example of healthcare professionals – from many different disciplines – working together under one roof to provide the right care for our patients in a quick and appropriate way.”