Shropshire urgent care centres moving while hospitals deal with coronavirus
Two of the county's urgent care centres are moving from its major hospitals to Bridgnorth and Whitchurch.
The centres are moving from Princess Royal Hospital Telford (PRH) and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH), to the current Minor Injuries Units (MIU) at Whitchurch and Bridgnorth, where they will become urgent treatment centres (UTC).
The move has been made while PRH and RSH, both managed by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), deal with an influx of seriously ill coronavirus patients.
The move takes place from Thursday.
The two new UTCs will provide treatment for patients where their care needs are urgent, but non-life threatening.
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In Bridgnorth, the UTC will be open from 9am to 9pm, seven-days-a-week and be staffed by a rota of GPs and doctors and nurses from SaTH.
There will be a GP-led service for minor illnesses and injuries including minor cuts, dislocations and back pain.
An enhanced service will also be offered in Whitchurch, with opening hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
A spokesman for SaTH said: "People with major injuries and illnesses, such as head injuries and breathing difficulties should still attend A&E.
"The Emergency Departments at PRH and RSH remain open and fully operational 24-hours-a-day, however, these changes will allow us to free up capacity to support those with more serious illnesses and injuries who need the level of care offered at hospital."
The county’s other two MIUs, at Ludlow and Oswestry, remain open for minor injuries and illnesses.
The MIU in Welshpool is currently appointment only and contact details can be found on the Powys Teaching Health Board website.
Dr Arne Rose, Medical Director at SaTH said: “The safety and wellbeing of all of our patients is our priority. These temporary changes will make sure we are looking after patients who need our care for urgent but non-life threatening situations, minor injuries and illnesses, and also those that need more specialist care in our A&E departments.
“We know some patients have expressed concern about taking up the time of our doctors and nurses in our hospitals at this difficult time and we are very grateful for their support. It is very important that people continue to access urgent care when they need it and we hope the availability of the Urgent Treatment Centres encourage them to do so.”
Jane Povey, Medical Director at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, said: “We would like to thank people in advance for their understanding and reassure them that these changes are temporary. They are being managed in a planned way with the best interests of local people and our staff in mind.”
