New 'park and walk' facility for staff and patients in Grimsby

The land has been secured as a temporary additional car park while the new Emergency Department and decked car park is being built at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby

The Senior Responsible Officer for the programme, Director of Estates and Facilities Jug Johal, said: “Given the location of the new building – which is being built out from our existing Emergency Department on an area of what was the main car park – it was inevitable there would be an impact on parking.

“My team and I have been working tirelessly in the background to try and find ways of minimising this, creating three additional new parking areas on the hospital site and exploring options for further parking to be created.

“As a result, we have now secured the former Scartho Baths car park on Scartho Road, which is just a short walk away."

Work on the new department is progressing well and in the next few weeks visitors will start to see the structure taking shape as the steel works are installed.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s number one priority is to give patients the best possible care and these works will give its staff the space, equipment, and facilities they need to do that. To ensure it got this right, the Trust has worked closely with clinical colleagues throughout the design process.

The new development will include a new Accident and Emergency department, complemented by a bespoke Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), housed in what is now A&E.

The department will be staffed by specialists in a range of conditions and illnesses, allowing patients to be seen and treated more quickly, often without the need to be admitted to a ward.

Other features of the new department include:

An increased waiting area to cope with demand and social distancing requirements

A dedicated play area for our younger patients

More cubicles, which have been designed to enable flexible use, which will help us manage surges in patient numbers and make it easier to meet individual patient needs.

A dedicated ambulance bay, reducing the time to transfer patients arriving by ambulance into the hospital

You can take a (virtual) guided tour of the building with architect Tom Potter.

As part of the Grimsby project, a new single-storey decked public car parking area is also being constructed in forn tof the hospital's main entrance, with 122 spaces available on the ground floor and 112 on the upper floor.

Mr Johal, added: “The new decked public parking area will not only mean that no parking provision is lost as result of the improvement works we’re carrying out at our Grimsby site but that we can offer modern, sustainable facilities such as charging points for electric vehicles.

“When the works have been completed, there will be 33 additional parking spaces available on the site.

“Unfortunately – even with our new parking area on Scartho Road – there will be fewer spaces available until the works are complete and, as a temporary measure, we are continuing to ask all those who are able to make alternative transport arrangements to do so.

“We appreciate that this will not be possible for some patients. However, if you can leave the car behind and take a bus, taxi or get a family member to drop you off, we’d be very grateful.

“I would also ask that you consider our neighbours and avoid parking on residential streets around the hospital site.”

If a medical condition prevents a patient from using public transport, they may be eligible for ambulance transport.