The Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre (A&E) at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to treat emergency and life-threatening conditions.
Patients are prioritised in order of clinical need – the most clinically urgent patients will be seen as a priority.
A&E works together as one big team. Patients are moved between the Emergency Department and the Urgent Treatment Centre depending on their needs because this is the best way to provide treatment as quickly and safely as possible.
An emergency is a situation where a patient's life is at risk - if this is the case call 999.
Medical emergencies can include:
- loss of consciousness
- an acute confused state
- fits that are not stopping
- persistent, severe chest pain
- breathing difficulties
- severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
- severe allergic reactions
- severe burns or scalds
Call 999 immediately if you or someone else is having a heart attack or stroke. Every second counts with these conditions. Also call 999 if you think someone has had a major trauma. Major trauma is often the result of a serious road traffic accident, a stabbing, a shooting, a fall from height, or a serious head injury. The ambulance will take you to the most appropriate hospital for your condition.
Please use A&E appropriately
If your symptoms are not an emergency, please visit our Feeling Unwell? webpage. There are a range of healthcare services available to help you find the right expert care to meet your needs. Choosing the service most appropriate to your symptoms means you get the right treatment in the right place.
NHS 111 service is available 24/7 for advice. Calls are free and they can advise you of the best service for your needs. If advisors deem it necessary for you to be seen by a GP or if you need to be seen in A&E, they can arrange this for you.
Anyone with life threatening conditions that need emergency attention should call 999. If the condition is not serious, you should seek advice from a pharmacy, make an appointment with your GP or visit an urgent care centre. You can find your nearest services here:
The Emergency Department at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital serves a population of 560,000 and sees an average of 386 patients coming through the door per day.
Staff in the Emergency Department assess and treat people with serious injuries and those in need of emergency treatment (blue light emergencies).
All serious cases that require an emergency ambulance with a ‘blue light’ in East Lancashire are brought to the Emergency Department at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital (emergency cases involving severe injury/illness).
The North West Air Ambulance can land on a purpose-built helipad outside the Emergency Department at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital. Air ambulance crews can treat seriously ill patients at the scene of accidents and fly them to the hospital’s dedicated emergency department in just minutes.
The Emergency Department and the 999 ambulance service should only be used in life-threatening or critical situations. You should only call 999 for an ambulance in a real emergency. The Emergency Department can get very busy and you may have to wait a long time to be seen if you are not in immediate danger.
Emergency Department visitors
The Emergency Department does allow 24 hour access for visitors accompanying patients. We do ask that this is restricted to two people at any one time where possible and that visitors are respectful and courteous to staff and other patients at all times.
Please ask to speak to the Nurse in Charge if there are any special requests or requirements around visiting. Please also remember that the hospital and its grounds are a complete non-smoking area.
