Telephone Triage Service – please call 0151 702 4140 (please note this line is not open 24/7)
The Gynaecology Emergency Department (GED) is a specialist A&E unit for women who need emergency care of an acute gynaecological problem (problems related to the female reproductive system) or self-referral of women having a problem in early pregnancy (up to 17 weeks and 6 days gestation) , such as pain, bleeding or severe vomiting.
Opening hours and Directions
The GED is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is located on the ground floor of the main hospital building. Please ask for directions at the main reception when you arrive.
If you are not pregnant but have abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, you can attend the department if you feel your case is an emergency. If your concern is not an emergency you should call 111 for further advice or see your General Practitioner (GP) to be assessed and they can discuss your case with the on-call gynaecology team if required.
If you are pregnant, have abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding or any other symptoms of urgent concern you should attend the Gynaecology Emergency Department for assessment .
All other emergencies that are not related to Gynaecology should attend your nearest general accident and emergency department.
Telephone Triage Service – 0151 702 4140 (please note this line is not open 24/7)
If you wish to speak with a member of our Nursing team regarding an acute gynaecological or early pregnancy problem, call 0151 702 4140 where you can receive advice and be triaged according to your concern . Please note this phone line is not operational 24/7 and during high periods of activity delays to the answering of telephone calls may be experienced. Please attend the Gynaecology Emergency Department if your phone query is not answered in a timely manner.
What happens following Triage?
When you speak to a nurse on the phone, they will assess your problem and where appropriate will arrange for you to either be seen immediately in the Emergency Department, or an appointment may be made with the Early Pregnancy Unit.
If you are unable to access the service, particularly if you have severe pain or heavy bleeding, please attend Liverpool Women’s and you will be directed to the GED.
Here you will still be seen by our Gynaecology Team of Nurse Practitioners and Doctors.
If you are attending the Gynaecology Emergency Department it is located on the ground floor of the hospital.
Before coming to the unit
To keep everyone safe, Liverpool Women’s Hospital has some visiting restrictions in place until further notice. We appreciate that the following measures are strict and will impact on families at an already difficult time. However, the safety and wellbeing of our women, babies, visitors and staff is of paramount importance. We ask everyone to respect these measures and work with us to keep people safe. Staff in GED will do everything they can to support women and families to stay connected. We appreciate your co-operation, understanding and support at this time.
At the unit
We are classified as a Type 2 Accident and Emergency (A&E) service, which means that you may be in the department for up to four hours.
Our triage nurse will see and assess you, ask you some questions and make sure you are in the right department for your needs. If not you may be guided to attend your GP.
At triage you will have some observations recorded and possibly some investigations for example urine or blood test. You will then need to wait to be seen by one of our specialist Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENP) or a doctor.
Please be aware that you are seen according to your clinical need not the time when you arrive.
The nurse or doctor will ask you about your problem and perform any necessary examinations or tests, e.g. a vaginal examination and/or blood tests.
The nurse or doctor will then:
- Decide you are able to safely go home or require admission
- Arrange a follow-up appointment in a GED Clinic / EPAU
Unless you ask us not to, we will send your GP information about the care we have given you.
When you go home
If you feel unwell when you go home and you feel your symptoms have become worse, then you can re attend the department for clinical assessment at any time or call 0151 702 4140.
This line is attended but at busy times there may be a wait, we endeavour to answer your call as soon as possible however when the department is busy patients attending the Emergency Department take priority.
If you are experiencing heavy bleeding and or significant pain then the advice would be to attend for assessment.
Follow-up appointments
After your first visit you may be given a follow-up appointment, if so, please come at the time given to you. Please note that whilst we make every effort to see you at the appointed time, it is not always possible if there are unwell or upset patients needing to be seen urgently.
You need to come to this appointment, even if you feel your symptoms have settled. This is to allow us to complete your care pathway and either discharge you or provide any ongoing care.
If you fail to attend we will call you by phone and invite you to return the call if you don’t answer.
If we receive no return call we will discharge you back to the care of your GP.
Test results
If you have had blood tests, we will tell you when you can expect the results. A member of our nursing team will call you once the result is available with your management plan. It is important for you to call us if you miss our call to prevent a delay in your treatment.
If you have had urine samples or swabs sent for analysis we will write to you and your GP if treatment is required. We ask that you please do not ring the department for these results as they will not be given out over the phone.