Urgent care site will not re-open

A 24-HOUR urgent care centre will not return to North Tyneside after a decision by local NHS bosses.

Last year NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) decided to close three walkin centres and replace them with one round-the-clock facility.

But in October it announced plans to scrap the proposed 24-hour urgent care centre at North Tyneside General Hospital and instead have one that opens from 8am to 10pm, with a home visiting service operating out of hours.

Now, health bosses have made a final decision on the plans after running a month-long “engagement exercise” with residents.

They have ruled that the new facility will not be open for 24 hours, but have agreed it should open until midnight instead of 10pm. In response to patients’ comments, people will be able to use the Urgent Treatment Centre on a walk-in basis from 8am to midnight, in line with the current opening hours at North Tyneside General Hospital (Rake Lane) walk-in centre. People will also be able to use the centre during the night by appointments booked via NHS 111.

Dr John Matthews, a GP and chair of North Tyneside CCG, said: “Rake Lane walk-in centre was used by around three patients per night, with around two-thirds of these needing little or no treatment.

“The new Urgent Treatment Centre can offer night-time appointments, but offering full walk-in access at night time would mean moving staff away from A&E, which would not be a good use of highly trained medical staff.”

Urgent care covers any healthcare need which needs immediate attention, but is not serious enough to require an A&E visit. The current urgent care services at Battle Hill Health Centre and Rake Lane will continue to operate until they are replaced by the new service next October.