NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has launched a special interactive map so the public can type in their postcode and see which A&E or Minor Injury Unit they are zoned to use in the new configuration of hospital services in Glasgow.
Ally McLaws, NHSGGC Director of Communications, said: “With the ongoing transfer of services to the new South Glasgow University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Sick Children from the Western and Victoria Infirmaries, old Southern General and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill the public are now beginning to access hospitals in a different way.
“The new easy to use interactive map has been designed to help them quickly find out exactly which hospital they should use if they need to attend Accident and Emergency or one of the city’s five Minor Injuries units.
“The post-code map also enables parents to identify where they should take young children when in need of emergency or minor injury treatment. This new asset aims to ensure people use the full range of our acute services in the most effective way – Minor Injury Units are key to ensuring fast treatment for minor injuries and that Emergency Departments are better able to deal with the emergencies.
“These last few weeks have seen the start of the single biggest hospital migration programme ever undertaken in the history of NHS Scotland and the map is one of the elements in a huge public information campaign that we have launched to ensure that people know how these hospital changes affect them.”
The Royal Mail are delivering an NHSGGC public information booklet to each of the 561,000 households in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
A dedicated web portal on NHSHHC’s website – www.nhsggc.org.uk/newhospitals has also been created which contains a wealth of travel and other general information.
The web portal also hosts a series of short animated films which have been made to tell people how to get to and use their new hospitals. The films also introduce some of the new technologies which form part of both new hospitals such as optional airport style self-check in and a smart lift system which gets people to their chosen floor more quickly than traditional style lift systems.
The interactive map and animated videos are all hosted on the new hospitals web portal www.nhsggc/org.uk/newhospitals.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Timeline of service transfers to new hospitals
Services from the old Southern General Hospital have already transferred to the New South Glasgow University Hospital.
Services from the Victoria Infirmary began transferring last weekend (including A&E which closed at 8am on Saturday 16th May) and the remaining inpatient transfers from the Victoria and Mansionhouse Unit will take place between 23-24th May.
All remaining inpatients will transfer from the Western Infirmary between 30 – 31 May. A&E at the Western Infirmary closes at 8am on 30th May.
Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) moves will begin 10 -12 June for inpatient and day surgery services (A&E at RHSC Yorkhill closes at 8am on 10th June when activity transfers to the new children’s hospital A&E in Govan), outpatient services transfer between 12 – 14 June.