What is an Urgent Care Centre?

One of the key issues we are trying to understand in the proposed changes at Huddersfield and Halifax Hospitals is what an Urgent Care Centre is. The poster below shows a list of common problems that patients suffer from, and where the NHS suggests we go for help.

So we know that for coughs and colds we might see a pharmacy, and that for a stroke or heart attack we are likely to end up in an ambulance on the way to an A&E.

In the new proposals, it is planned that an Urgent Care Centre will replace the current A&E at Huddersfield Hospital.

But what is an Urgent Care Centre?

Who can go there?

What sort of things will it treat?

How many people in Huddersfield use A&E services?

How many will be able to use the new Urgent Care Centre instead of A&E?

We’ve asked the hospital Trust these questions, and are waiting for a response.

If you’ve got questions you’d like to ask the hospital, then get in touch and Healthwatch can help you understand what is being proposed. And if we don’t know the answer, we’ll help you ask.