Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital

It is England’s first purpose-built specialist emergency care hospital, with emergency consultants on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as consultants in a range of specialties working seven days a week.

The hospital treats serious emergencies such as:

Suspected stroke
Loss of consciousness
Persistent and severe chest pain
Sudden shortness of breath
Severe abdominal pain
Severe blood loss

The Northumbria hospital also has a birthing centre with midwifery and consultant-led care. It has en-suite delivery rooms, two birthing pools and en-suite bedrooms where partners are able to stay overnight.

Some planned surgery which is considered to be high-risk is also carried out at the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital as patients will be surrounded by relevant experts and support services such as critical care which may be needed in an emergency.

The Northumbria hospital has:

A state-of-the art emergency department with individual treatment rooms
Diagnostics including x-ray, MRI, ultrasound and CT scanners, endoscopy room and cardiac catheter lab – all located close to the emergency department for quick test results, enabling treatment to start earlier
A critical care unit
Beds for emergency admissions across seven specialty wards – surgery, trauma, cardiology, respiratory, stroke, gastrointestinal and an acute medical unit
A short-stay paediatric unit with paediatric ambulatory care
Ambulatory care for the rapid assessment of patients with specific conditions, without the need for emergency admission
A co-located consultant and midwifery-led birthing centre, with single en-suite rooms which allows partners to stay overnight. It will also have a special care baby unit for those babies needing extra help
Operating theatres for emergency/high risk surgery including a dedicated maternity theatre

The health, safety and wellbeing of our patients, communities and staff remain our overall priority. We will keep visiting arrangements under regular review to support this.

Emergency Department (ED) and Urgent Treatment Centres

One relative or friend can accompany each patient.

Adult inpatient wards (except for elective orthopaedics)

Visiting is between the hours of 10am and 8pm.

Please help us keep everyone as safe as possible:

If you can, please book before visiting by contacting the ward.
Protected mealtimes are in place on all wards. This is so patients have a dedicated mealtime, free from interruptions. Relatives helping with feeding can be an exception. Please arrange this with the ward manager/nurse in charge.
Only two visitors can be at a bedside at any one time. Exceptions are at the discretion of the ward manager / nurse in charge. This would include patients having end-of-life care. Another example is patients with carers who help them with everyday activities. All visiting requirements are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Each ward has a maximum number of visiting slots available each hour. This is in line with safe hospital ventilation standards.

If you would like children under 10 to visit, please talk to the ward manager / nurse in charge.

Our staff may refuse entry to visitors or manage visitor numbers. This could happen if an area becomes overcrowded. Wards may introduce specific and enhanced infection prevention measures.

Visiting people with mental health conditions, dementia and/or delirium, learning disabilities and/or autism

We will continue to make reasonable adjustments, so people can stay in touch with their loved ones.

Elective orthopaedics

Special visiting arrangements are in place for elective orthopaedic wards. Please discuss with the admitting team.

Maternity

Birthing partners are welcome to leave and return without restriction. This applies to the birthing centre, ward 16, and Pregnancy Assessment Unit.

Other family and friends need to book visits in advance by calling 0191 607 2584. Unlimited 1-hour slots are available between 1pm and 7pm each day.

Paediatrics

Parents/legal guardians can visit throughout the day on the Children’s Unit. One parent/carer can stay overnight.

Siblings and grandparents can visit during the day between 8am and 10pm.

Guidance for all visitors

Wash or gel your hands when entering and leaving our hospitals. Do the same when entering and leaving wards, bays or side rooms.

Please do not visit if you have been unwell or have signs of a cough or cold. Wait for 48 hours after diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms before visiting. If you are unsure, please contact us to see if it is safe for you to visit.

Please do not bring in food for patients. If not possible, staff will advise on how to store and dispose of food.

You may need to leave a bedside or ward if staff ask you to. We would ask that you are respectful of other patients during your visit.

To help prevent infections, please do not sit on the bed during visits. Please do not touch equipment.

We welcome service dogs that support a visitor to attend.

You can find options for travelling to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in our travel leaflet here.

By car

Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is accessible from the A189 at East Cramlington, to the north of the Moor Farm roundabout. It is signposted from the northbound and southbound slip roads closest to the hospital.

If you are travelling by car, we have produced videos to help direct you to the hospital:

If you are travelling from the A1 southbound please click for video here
If you are travelling from the A1 northbound please click for video here
If you are travelling from the A189 northbound please click for video here
If you are travelling from the A189 southbound please click for video here

Dedicated car service

If you are a relative visiting from Hexham or Berwick, we have a dedicated free daily car service to and from The Northumbria hospital which arrives for visiting times. To book transport from Hexham, call 01434 655388. To book transport from Berwick, call 01289 356664 or 07774 788627.

By public transport

For up to date bus information, please use the Traveline website

Charges

0-20mins = Free*
20mins-1 hour = £2
1-2 hours = £3
2-3 hours = £4
3-4 hours = £5
24 hours = £6

As it is pay and display, please make sure that you bring change with you and leave plenty of time to find a space.

Please take a ticket to raise the barrier to gain entry to the car park. You will then use this ticket to pay at a pay station before leaving. The payment machines take coins and notes, as well as credit and debit cards.

There are free lay-bys for pick-ups or drops offs (maximum stay 20 minutes).

Disabled parking

There are a number of designated free parking bays reserved for disabled drivers displaying a valid blue badge permit

Concessionary car parking

We offer free car parking under certain circumstances for patients or their visitors. This includes those patients attending regularly over an extended period, visitors of long-stay patients and those who are staying in the hospital with patients (for example parents with children). This list is not exhaustive and exemptions are issued by the ward or department manager – please speak to them if you think you may qualify.

Electric vehicle charging

This hospital has an electric vehicle charging point which is free to use for patients and visitors.

Car parking violations

Please note that failure to park in a designated bay or failure to pay for parking may result in you being issued with a civil penalty or infringement notice.

Cafés and restaurants

The hospital has a coffee shop at the main entrance run by our Northumbria Volunteer Service (NVS). There is also a restaurant on the ground on the floor where you get hot and cold food.

Opening times are as follows:

Restaurant (7 days a week)