Wintry conditions, winter bugs… as usual at this time of year, the NHS is gearing up to cope with higher numbers of patients than normal.
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) manage your local hospitals including Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Leigh Infirmary and Wrightington Hospital. The Trust is also responsible for the Thomas Linacre Centre in Wigan town centre which is a dedicated outpatients’ department.
The Trust will ensure that all key services at its facilities are maintained during the winter period as tried and tested plans are in place to respond to peaks in demand.
Emergency Hospital Services
The Accident and Emergency Centre at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan will be open 24 hours every day throughout the festive period. Staffing levels are set to ensure it can cope with expected patient demand with the flexibility to expand as required.
Please remember that the Accident and Emergency Centre is for serious illness or major injury only.
Hospital Clinics Opening Times
Routine hospital and outpatient clinics will be open from 8.30am to 5pm, but will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Hospital Visiting Times
It’s advisable to check hospital visiting times with the individual wards via the main switchboard number 01942 244000.
Further information on the Trust and services provided at each facility can be found on the Trust’s web site at: WWL NHS Trust (external link)
New Pelvic Service
Wrightington Hospital is already world famous as a pioneering centre of excellence for orthopaedic surgery.
The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary provides the orthopaedic trauma service to local people. As of September 2009 a unique pelvic service was set up, expanding the range of orthopaedic services provided in Wigan and Wrightington.
The service deals primarily with complex pelvic fractures and underdeveloped hip sockets.
This makes Wrightington the new North West regional centre for complex pelvic surgery, further complementing the lower limb activity already carried out there, covering hips, knees, ankles and feet.
Trust Retains ‘Good’ Performance Rating
Dr Jennifer Graham at the "Best Performing" Maternity Unit.
In terms of quality it has been another positive year for WWL. The Care Quality Commission (the independent healthcare watchdog) rated the Trust as “Good” in terms of quality of services and also “Good” at managing its finances and resources. The Trust’s Maternity Unit was also rated in the “Best Performing” category.
Other quality measures show that the Trust continues to improve. Rates of MRSA bacteraemia have reduced significantly with only two cases in the last six months. Cases of Clostridium Difficile remain at levels achieved last year where the Trust achieved an 80 per cent reduction.
The Trust’s mortality ratio, currently at 83.5, is well below the national average of 100 – meaning more lives are being saved.
These improvements are a testament to the dedication and commitment of staff who have wholeheartedly embraced all the measures put in place to improve the quality of care.
