Calls for public to use Urgent Treatment Centres to help reduce NHS pressures

The Chief Medical Officer for NHS Derby and Derbyshire has appealed to the public to use Urgent Treatment Centres more often, in a bid to reduce the rapidly increasing pressure across the entire health and care system.

Dr Chris Weiner said the system was facing severe demand, with general practices and hospitals under particular pressure, and patients could get faster care at urgent treatment centres for many ailments instead of visiting an Emergency Department.

Urgent Treatment Centres are open from 8am to 8pm every day and can diagnose and deal with many of the most common ailments people attend A&E for.

"Every day, we're seeing intense demand for on-the-day health care, and many patients do not realise that they can get care more quickly at an urgent treatment centre for many conditions.  By more quickly, we mean that we routinely see patients arrive, treated and discharged in under an hour in a UTC, compared to significantly longer waits at ED for conditions that are not life threatening."

"We have five UTCs across the city and county, in Derby, Ilkeston, Ripley, Whitworth and Buxton, as well Minor Injuries Units just across the border in Staffordshire at Lichfield and Tamworth. 

"These are a very good option, with waiting times much lower than at A&E and the care just as comprehensive for minor injuries and illnesses that need urgent care but are not life-threatening.

"By reducing the load on hospitals, we can free up their capacity to carry out planned operations and life-saving emergency care. That helps general practices because a better flow of patients improves the overall health of the population, and means fewer patients needing GP advice and treatment to cope while they wait for their operation.

"It also helps the ambulance service to be able to hand over patients more quickly and be available for urgent calls.

"This is about the whole system working together to get the best possible care for patients, and the public can really help by using UTCs where possible and appropriate."

"The hospitals do a great job in streaming and filtering patients at A&E to make the best use of their resources, but so many patients could avoid this by going straight to a UTC, and this also ensures that ED staff are able to focus their attention on emergencies and life-threatening illness."

Derby and Derbyshire UTC include those at Ilkeston Community Hospital on Heanor Road (DE7 8LN) and at the Florence Nightingale Hospital on London Road, Derby (DE1 2GD)