New arrangements for urgent care centre set to start in North Tyneside

Residents are being reminded of changes to North Tyneside's urgent care centre from next week.
North Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North ShieldsNorth Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields
North Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields

The Urgent Treatment Centre, based at North Tyneside General Hospital, will offer appointments any time of the day or night, with walk-in access available from 8am to midnight.

It will open on Monday, replacing the previous walk-in centres at the hospital and at Battle Hill.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dr Richard Scott, Chair of NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “The new urgent treatment centre will offer appointments day and night, as well as the option to just walk in during the day.

“We’ve also added hundreds of extra appointments with GP practices at evenings and weekends and brought the service together with the out-of-hours home visiting services so that both can operate more efficiently for the benefit of patients.

“We’re calling on everyone to ‘talk before you walk’ – by phoning NHS 111 you can be sure you will see the right service first time, with less need to wait around or be referred on to another service.

“NHS 111 is also making improvements so it will be easier to get clinical advice over the phone without leaving home.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If you need urgent care, day or night, it will be there for you.”

Jeremy Rushmer, Executive Medical Director at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to welcome the new – GP led – urgent care centre to North Tyneside General Hospital.

“Not only does it confirm the hospital’s on-going status as one of our most important sites but also offers an absolutely fantastic service to the whole community.

“By consolidating all urgent care services onto the Rake Lane site it means we can be confident of having the right staff, in the right place, at the right time; whatever our patients need.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

NHS leaders are also reminding patients that the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital at Cramlington is for serious injuries and potentially life-threatening emergencies only. Anyone attending the Northumbria Hospital with a non-emergency condition will be referred back to an appointment with the urgent care service or a GP practice.

The changes follow a four-week engagement exercise last year in which the CCG presented its plans to local people and listened to views from over 600 participants. This followed an earlier three-month consultation about urgent care.

The CCG reviewed the findings and agreed plans for the future – including changes based on patients’ feedback. These included extending walk-in hours from the proposed 10pm to midnight, in line with existing services.

Emergency Department (A&E) services are not affected by these changes. Anyone with a medical emergency should dial 999 or attend the Emergency Department at Cramlington or the RVI in Newcastle.

If you are not sure which service to use, it’s best to call NHS 111, who can direct you to the right service and arrange transport if this is clinically appropriate.