CONFIRMED: New heated waiting area constructed outside Northampton A&E department - here's when it will be ready for use

A brand new heated waiting area is being built outside the under pressure accident and emergency department at Northampton General Hospital (NGH).

Over the winter months, vulnerable patients waiting to be booked into A&E have had to sit outside underneath a white pop-up gazebo – some having to wait hours in sub-zero temperatures.

This newspaper reported on those patients’ stories and campaigned on their behalf to replace the white gazebo with something more suitable.

NGH has confirmed that the new waiting area was constructed on Friday (January 6) and is expected to be fully operational in the next two weeks.

NGH boss Heidi Smoult said it is a “short-term solution” and once again apologised to those affected by long wait times.

Ms Smoult said: “We are now taking delivery of that temporary building to provide a much-improved waiting environment for patients waiting for emergency care.

“It will take approximately two weeks to carry out the necessary work to ensure the building has appropriate heating, light, power, and CCTV coverage, and to ensure we are ready to open.

“We would like to apologise to all patients who have had difficult waiting experiences this year to due to our capacity constraints and thank them for their understanding.

“I also want to thank our amazing urgent care, ward and departmental teams, who continue to work extremely hard during one of the busiest periods in NHS history to support the healthcare needs of our local population.”

Ms Smoult told the Chron in November why the hospital was so busy. She said: “We have...started to see an increase in Covid, flu and norovirus cases in the hospital. We know that this is the case for many other hospitals too nationally and we are anticipating further demand for our services as we move into winter.”

The hospital continues to emphasise that its emergency department is for people who are seriously ill and that much other appropriate healthcare support and advice is available through NHS 111, local GPs, and local pharmacists.

The hospital remains in critical incident and is asking local people to support its fight against Covid-19 and flu infections by wearing masks when attending hospital.