Hospital facility to replace walk-in centre

ASHTON walk-in centre is to close and be replaced by an ‘urgent care’ centre based at Tameside Hospital.

The new facility will be led by GPs and is set to open at the end of this year, health bosses have confirmed.

The decision follows a 12-week public consultation involving residents in the Tameside and Glossop area.

It means the walk-in service currently based at Ashton Primary Care Centre will close and be replaced with an urgent care service adjacent to Tameside A&E department.

The urgent care centre will be open 12 hours a day, every day, and will be equipped to deal with non-life threatening ailments and illnesses.

Patients needing specialist diagnostics, such as a blood test or an X-ray, will be able to transfer to the relevant department at the hospital without the need to travel to another location, NHS bosses say.

More GP appointments are to be made available across five ‘neighbourhood hubs’ in Ashton, Glossop, Denton, Hyde and Stalybridge.