Members of the public are being invited to have their say on a proposed change in how healthcare services are accessed overnight in Eden.
Penrith Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) is a walk-in health care facility that is currently open 24 hours. The centre can help treat patients with non-urgent conditions such as abdominal pain, cuts and grazes, ear and throat infections, emergency contraception, minor head injuries, minor scalds and burns, sprains and strains and suspected broken limbs.
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust is proposing to change the way that services are accessed overnight so that between the hours of 8pm and 8am daily, services are accessed by calling 111 first and making an appointment.
Dr Craig Melrose clinical director at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust explained: “There have been ongoing conversations over the past two years with staff, partners and the wider community about how we can develop and improve the health care provision at Penrith Urgent Treatment Centre.
“Overnight, demand for the walk-in service is extremely low, and there is a need to expand the services available during the day to ensure it benefits more patients in Penrith and the surrounding area.”
A proposal has now been developed to change the way healthcare treatment is accessed overnight from a walk-in service to an appointment system that is accessed through 111 (delivered by Cumbria Health On Call).
This would:
- Allow the trust to redeploy staff to expand services available during the day, when demand is outstripping capacity for intravenous antibiotics for example.
- Enable an expansion of x-ray provision to reduce the need to transfer patients to the Cumberland Infirmary or West Cumberland Hospital.
- Increase the opportunities to divert patients to Penrith UTC as an alternative.
- Ensure that clinical decision makers are available in the unit at all times which will minimise waiting times and maximise safety.
- Ensure that the intermittent overnight changes that occur due to staffing challenges are eliminated and a permanent arrangement for accessing services is in place.
A thorough engagement process was started successfully in 2019 and continued into the beginning of 2020.
Dr Melrose added: “The pandemic halted any progress from these conversations but they have no restarted and we are exploring how we can permanently change the way overnight healthcare is accessed in order to maximize services for the local population during the far busier daytime hours.”
The trust is now holding a four-week engagement process starting this week to reach out to those groups the trust has already been speaking to and the wider local community.
A survey has been developed to gather feedback from the local community.
