Emergency Department opening at Sunderland's new Eye Hospital - here's what you need to know
It’s the first of the departments to open.
This weekend will see the first of the patients to be treated at Sunderland’s new Eye Hospital.
It’s been rising into the city centre skyline for the past two years and now the new £50m Eye Hospital, which replaces the ageing Eye Infirmary in Queen Alexandra Road, is set to start delivering its specialist care.
The first service to move will be the Eye Emergency Department.
Need to know
*The Eye Emergency Department. This will open at 2pm on Saturday 11 July and is 24/7.
Patients must call ahead using the Trust’s 24/7 emergency phone line on 0191 56 999 52 before arriving.
* All other eye services will move across by Thursday 23 July.
Clear details will be included in patient appointment letters and via text messages. This will make it clear where patients should go for their planned appointment.
Patients should still attend the existing Sunderland Eye Infirmary site until they are told otherwise in their appointment letter.
Can I park at the new hospital?
Yes, Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital has 90 on-site patient parking spaces with 7 accessible bays.
You’ll also find more parking at the nearby Riverside Car Park and other city centre locations.
Clear signs will guide you to the drop off points and parking areas.
What services are at the new hospital?
All clinical services will move across from the existing Sunderland Eye Infirmary site, with staff providing the same care, but from a new city centre home.
It will continue to be home to the region's nationally renowned Cataract Treatment Centre (CTC), 24/7 Eye Emergency Department and an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) service and will also feature an on-site cafe.
This offers specialist RNIB support providing practical and emotional support to patients diagnosed with sight loss, along with their families and carers.
For the first time, patients will also benefit from a dedicated Surgical Day Unit and a Treatment and Investigation Unit.
When it opens this July, the new Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital will cement the city’s longstanding reputation as a centre of excellence for eye services, welcoming patients from across the North East, Cumbria and beyond.
Meanwhile, the Eye Imaging Hub will be based at The Beacon of Light, which you can read about here: https://www.sunderlandecho.com/health/how-a-new-eye-imaging-hub-in-sunderland-will-help-prevent-ill-eye-health-8780286
For more information on the hospital visit www.stsft.nhs.uk/neweyehospital
What will happen to the Eye Infirmary?
Dozens of new homes are planned on the site of the soon-to-close Sunderland Eye Infirmary as a potential timetable for the buildings’ demolition is also revealed.