Clinicians welcome public back to Cheltenham A&E

On Wednesday 9 June the consultant-led Emergency Department will re-open seven days a week between the hours of 8am – 8pm. The service will remain closed overnight until the overnight nurse-led service re-opens at 8pm Wednesday 30 June.

This means that from 1st July 2021, Cheltenham A&E will be returned to its pre-pandemic state, in line with commitments we have made publically and as agreed with our local Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. To support the re-opening of Cheltenham A&E next week a number of other services will be restored including medical admissions to Cheltenham.

Dr. Rob Stacey, Emergency Department Consultant & Specialty Director, said: “We want to remind the public that Cheltenham’s A&E department will re-open as a consultant-led service as part of a phased return from Wednesday 9th June.

It’s also worth reminding people that the minor injuries and illness unit is currently open from 8am – 8pm seven days a week. If you have a sprain, fracture, a wound, deep cut, or similar and have been advised to access clinical care via NHS 111, Cheltenham A&E is open to all.”

Medical Director, Professor Mark Pietroni said, “Whilst Cheltenham has traditionally served the east of the county, it is a service available to anyone in Gloucestershire, has a superb team of staff and can often see patients in a more timely way than is possible at Gloucestershire Royal during times of peak demand.”

The temporary changes to A&E at Cheltenham were introduced last summer as part of the hospitals' response to the pandemic which enabled the Trust to continue life-saving cancer surgery amongst other vital services. The success of these changes has been demonstrated in many ways including the hospital's most recent 62-day and two-week wait cancer performance standards where we have been one of the best performers in the country in seeing and treating patients referred to us by their GP.