23 September 2020
One of the busiest Emergency Departments in the country has been granted £15 million from the Government to increase its capacity and further enhance patient care.
The A&E department at University Hospital in Coventry welcomes around 150,000 patients per year and serves a catchment area of more than a million people.
An initial cash injection of £3 million was announced by the Government this week, with a written guarantee provided for the remaining funds. This money will contribute towards expanding the Emergency Department and will include a new Minor Illness and Injuries Unit.
Funding will also be used to install additional treatment cubicles, expanding the waiting room in the Children’s Emergency Department, increasing the level of same day emergency care and supporting diagnostic capacity through an additional CT scanner.
All work is designed to complement existing services provided at Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre, available 24/7 at the Hospital of St Cross, and Coventry Urgent Treatment Centre, open between 8am and 10pm in Stoney Stanton Road.
The announcement has been welcomed by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, which manages the hospital.
Professor Kiran Patel, Chief Medical Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are very proud of our Emergency Department and the safe, high quality care we provide for those most in need.
“This welcome and much-needed investment means we can future proof our services and further improve how patients are assessed and treated within our Emergency Department to improve the patient experience.
“We believe these developments will allow us to deliver new, innovative ways of working to help continue to enhance the overall experience for our patients and their families.”
Attendances have increased from 117,282 in 2010 to 152,284 in 2019 – a rise of 29.8%. The funding will be used to reconfigure the Emergency Department to ensure it is able to meet projected demographic growth in the area. The project will be delivered in a phased approach to ensure that patient care isn’t affected, with timescales to be confirmed.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON BLOOD TESTING DUE TO COVID-19
Shielding Patients in very high risk for COVID Group
All people who have been identified as very high risk (requiring shielding) for COVID are in the process of being contacted by their clinician regarding their ongoing care. If you require a blood test whilst shielding as part of your care, appointment details including when and where your blood test will be carried out will be sent to you via a text message from SwiftQueue who manage our blood test bookings.
If you have regular blood tests and have been asked to have these, please ensure you have blood forms at home available; if you haven’t please contact your specialty to have some sent to you in advance of your blood tests.
Older People and Vulnerable Adults
People who are in the groups identified by the government as higher risk e.g are over 70 or receive a yearly flu jab, but are not in the very high risk (requiring shielding) group, can attend our normal blood test clinics. The blood test clinics and waiting areas have been adapted so that social distancing can be maintained.
Please check the locations on the map below.
Click on the map for information about phlebotomy clinics in Coventry. You can book an appointment online at the locations in red.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Booking an appointment helps patients, their carers and family members to plan their hospital visit better, helping to reduce clinic waiting times and enabling patients to be seen much more quickly.
Location: Outpatients Department, on the ground floor. Opening hours: 8am-4.45pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Children under 16 years old will need to book online here.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test, click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Patients from Rugby and the surrounding areas are able to access the Friends Blood Taking Unit at the Hospital of St Cross.
Referrals for blood tests can be from GP's, practice nurses or from hospital consultants. Patients are also able to leave other samples, such as urine, which have been collected at home, at the hospital's Pathology Reception.
Location: Near Brookfield House, just off North Road - map here. Opening hours: The blood taking clinic sessions for adults and children are listed below:
Monday -Friday 7am-4:45pm Appointment only
Wednesday Evening 5pm-7pm Suspended due to COVID
Saturday Morning 7am-10pm Suspended due to COVID
April 2020 NEW - This Clinic is now by appointment. Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above.
Address: Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry CV1 4FS Location: Access is via the main doors, the Phlebotomy team are in Area A. Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). 8am–4.45pm
Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)
Specialist Tests - There are a small number of specialist tests where blood needs to be taken on a hospital site as the sample must be transferred to the laboratory rapidly for the test to be undertaken. Click here for a list of these specialist tests and to find out more.