New Ambulance Hubs and Discharge Lounges

The government have announced Six new ambulance hubs and 42 new and upgraded discharge lounges are opening at hospitals across the country, which they say will help cut urgent and emergency care waiting times for tens of thousands of patients.

These new facilities are backed by the £50 million investment that was announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay in January to help free up hospital beds and cut down on waiting times for patients ahead of next winter.

The government say the discharge hubs will provide 439 additional beds, 364 chairs, and 44 extra trolleys in hospitals, freeing up capacity and providing a comfortable environment for the discharge process.

Four of the new hubs – located at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford Shropshire, the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, and the Doncaster Royal – are already live and providing additional urgent and emergency care capacity. Two further hubs will come into use this summer at the Queen’s Hospital in Romford, east London, and the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.