Launch of Urgent Treatment Centres in Derbyshire for patients who need same-day care
The four NHS minor injury units in Derbyshire are being relaunched as Urgent Treatment Centres from next week (3 August), to help enhance services for patients across the county who need urgent same-day care for injuries or illnesses.
The newly branded Urgent Treatment Centres are in Ripley, Ilkeston, Whitworth (Darley Dale) and Buxton, and have met national NHS England standards to earn their new title which better reflects the broad range of care which can be administered to patients at each of the four centres.
Mark Roberts, general manager for specialist services Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, which runs all four centres, said: “Patients have been able to come to us for treatment for illnesses as well as injuries for some time now and the new name better reflects the scope of what we offer to patients facing an urgent health need requiring same-day care.
“We are delighted to introduce this rebranded service as part of wider efforts across the NHS locally to ensure patients get the most appropriate care for their needs and that we free up Emergency Departments in Derby and Chesterfield for patients with emergency health needs. Patients can still find us in exactly the same places, just look for the new name.”
The Urgent Treatment Centres, previously known as minor injury units, are open seven days a week, between 8am and 8pm and are located at Ripley Community Hospital, Ilkeston Community Hospital, Whitworth Hospital in Darley Dale and Buxton Hospital. The Derby Urgent Care Centre, run by One Medical, is also being renamed as an Urgent Treatment Centre, reflecting that it provides the same model of urgent care, 365 days a year. (https://www.onemedicalgroup.co.uk/derby-urgent-care-centre) more…/
Urgent Treatment Centres are run by highly skilled paramedics and specialist nurses. In the coming months GP cover will also be provided to further broaden the level of clinical expertise and supervision available in each of the centres.
As part of the improvements to urgent care in Derby and Derbyshire, patients are being encouraged to ring NHS 111 for immediate advice if they are concerned they need urgent care. In this way call handlers can do an initial assessment and book the patient for a same-day appointment at their nearest Urgent Treatment Centre if that is the most appropriate place for them. Until now, the service has run purely as a walk-in-and-wait system. Although patients can still do this, they are being strongly advised to ring NHS 111 as a first step to getting the help they need. You can read more about this here: http://www.dchs.nhs.uk/…/think-111-if-you-need-urgent-but-…/
