How the new emergency village is laid out.How the new emergency village is laid out.
How the new emergency village is laid out.

Take a look inside Blackpool Victoria Hospital's new £13m emergency village

Parts of Blackpool Victoria Hospital's newly upgraded emergency department have now opened.

The first phase of the £13m 'emergency village' project has been completed. It includes a bigger, upgraded waiting room and a minors area - for treating emergency cases that are not life-threatening.

The extra space will make it easier to follow social distancing rules, bosses said. Chief executive Kevin McGee said the new facility was "fantastic".

Medical director Dr Jim Gardner, who opened the minors area, said: “The opening represents just one step along our journey of modernisation.

"I hope everyone appreciates the work that has gone in to making this happen and I look forward to future openings as our schemes develop.”

Dr Adeline Israel, who is responsible for the emergency village, called the facilities "spacious, Covid-compliant and well supervised". She added: "The outstanding feature of (the minors) area is its flexibility. It has the capability to be an isolation zone for Covid patients with direct access to them without compromising the safety of other patients in the department."

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