Accident and Emergency (A&E)

We have a full emergency department at the Lister and an urgent care centre service at the New QEII. The difference is that the Lister A&E / Emergency department provides specialist support to those requiring emergency surgery, stroke, cardiac or neonatal care – services that are not available at the New QEII. For minor injuries, please attend the New QEII and not the Lister. 

Taken together, however, they provide services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our emergency department and urgent care centre teams cover the whole of east and north Hertfordshire, as well as south Bedfordshire– a population of around 600,000 people. This means that:

• We see more than 135,000 patients a year
• Around 25% of those who come into our A&E departments are children
• About 21% of the patients we treat are admitted to hospital

In December 2014, the fourth and final redevelopment phase of the £19 million investment to transform the emergency department at the Lister Hospital was completed. The department, which is now three times as big and much better laid, now has its own dedicated CT scanner.

Services for adults

New QEII –  A 24/7 Urgent Care Centre that treats adults with minor injuries and illnesses, 24-hours a day, every day of the week.  No appointment is necessary.

Lister – Full A&E / emergency department service, 24 hours a day, every day of the week

Services for children and babies

Lister– Full specialist children’s A&E / emergency department service, 24 hours a day, every day of the week

New QEII – A 24/7 Urgent Care Centre that treats children of all ages with minor injuries and illnesses, 24-hours a day, every day of the week.  No appointment is necessary. Please note: opening hours at the Urgent Care Centre are to change from Sunday 2 January 2022. From January, the UCC will close at 10pm, and reopen at 8am every morning. Patients already in the UCC being treated, or waiting to be treated, at 10pm will continue to be cared for appropriately.

NHS 111 or 999?

Not sure whether to attend an emergency department? Call NHS 111 and you’ll be advised about the best treatment options available to you – which in some cases may mean an ambulance to take you or the person you’re calling about to an emergency department.  So the advice is simple, if it’s urgent but not an emergency, then call NHS 111; if it’s an emergency, dial 999.

Before you come…

• Self-care – you may be able to treat minor illnesses or injuries such as sprains, strains, insect stings and cuts and grazes yourself
• Calling NHS 111 – a nurse will give you confidential advice and information for round the clock health queries
• Local pharmacist – can give advice for treating common illnesses and the best medicines to use
• Visiting your GP – for medical advice, examinations or an illness or injury that require prescriptions
• NHS walk-in or urgent care centre – for treating minor illnesses and injuries that do not require an emergency department visit and without needing an appointment A&E or 999