Services to relocate from the main building to Gibberd Ward to support patient flow this winter: blood tests, therapies and non-elective specialty procedures | News and events

A range of services currently in the main building at The Princess Alexandra Hospital are to relocate to Gibberd Ward, at the rear of the site, to support patient flow this winter.

From Monday (28 November), the following services will move to Gibberd Ward (Building 6), red zone. Building 6 is shown on the map below, at the rear of the Derwent Centre and the Williams Day Unit (WDU).

Phlebotomy (blood tests)

• The phlebotomy (blood tests) service at The Princess Alexandra Hospital will be unavailable on Monday (28 November) to facilitate the move
• Phlebotomy (blood tests) services at Herts and Essex Hospital, Bishop’s Stortford, and St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping, will be unaffected
• The service at The Princess Alexandra Hospital will reopen on Tuesday (29 November) in the new location at Gibberd Ward, and remain there until at least 31 March 2023
• Due to the reduced waiting area capacity at Gibberd Ward, patients should attend appointments by themselves where possible
• Please note that the new location is away from the facilities in the main building, including the Alexandra Restaurant, Marks & Spencer and Costa Coffee
• Opening hours remain the same at the new location - 7am to 4:30pm. Appointments are required as before, which patients can book online using our online booking system, Swiftqueue: www.swiftqueue.co.uk

Therapies

• The therapies department will move from B27 in the main hospital to Gibberd Ward (Building 6) on Monday (28 November)
• This will include the musculoskeletal (MSK) outpatient physiotherapy service, together with office space for the inpatient occupational therapists and physiotherapists and management team
• Contact details for the department remain 01279 827199 for inpatients and 01279 827606 for outpatients (if the team are unable to answer, there will be an opportunity to leave a message)
• The MSK outpatient service will not be open to patients on Monday 28 November and the morning of Tuesday 29 November. Patient clinics will resume from 1pm on Tuesday
• No therapy services will remain at location B27

Non-elective specialty procedures

• Some non-elective procedures will be completed on Gibberd Ward that were previously carried out on our Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit. These will include ascitic drains, pleural effusions and transfusions
• Any patients requiring these procedures will be booked and contacted directly
• Due to the reduced waiting area capacity at Gibberd Ward, patients should attend appointments by themselves where possible

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your patience during this time whilst we temporarily reorganise our services to support patient flow through our emergency department (ED) this winter.