Story Street walk-in centre set for move to infirmary
OPENS ON MONDAY: The new walk-in centre at Hull Royal Infirmary
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Hull’s Story Street walk-in service will move to its new home at Hull Royal Infirmary on Monday, February 5, paving the way for improved integration of urgent care services in the city.
City Health Care Partnership CIC will continue to provide the service at the new location, and the centre will continue to offer treatment for minor illness and injury in a newly refurbished clinical space.
Co-locating the walk-in centre at the hospital means it will benefit from better access to diagnostic services, such as X-ray. Additional minor injuries and diagnostic pathways will be established later this year to create a fully designated Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC).
The new site is located close to the main hospital entrance and clear signage is in place to direct people to the centre. The service will be open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
People who need urgent medical help should use NHS 111 by phone or online. Highly trained advisors will assess and direct people to the most appropriate local service, including walk-in centres and UTCs.
Dr James Crick, Clinical Place Director (East Riding of Yorkshire & Hull) at NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, said: “Moving the walk-in service to Hull Royal Infirmary is a significant step forward for urgent care services in Hull. It ensures that patients will get the care they need sooner and relieve pressure on the hospital’s emergency department.
“Our ambition is for local services to be reflective of the needs of the communities we serve. Integrating services like this leads to improved health outcomes for our population, allowing everyone to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”
Gemma Bradley, Head of Urgent Care Services at City Health Care Partnership CIC, said: “The relocation of the walk-in centre will improve access to urgent care across the city. Our new urgent treatment centre has been designed in collaboration with our healthcare partners to provide an enhanced, fit for purpose department that ensures patients are treated in the right place, at the right time.
“Thank you to all who have worked on the development, working together to improve how we provide these services for patients in a new collaborative way, in a combined space. I believe that our partnership with Hull University Teaching Hospitals will allow us to deliver a high quality, more integrated and patient-focused service.”
Jonathan Lofthouse, Group Chief Executive at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH), said: “We are delighted to have the co-located Urgent Treatment Centre at Hull Royal Infirmary. This marks a significant step towards providing integrated and accessible healthcare services to our communities.
“With this facility, our patients can now receive the care they need promptly, ensuring a more timely response to their medical needs and promoting better health outcomes.
“The new UTC also reinforces our commitment to providing accessible and efficient healthcare services for our community. Our heartfelt thank you to our valued partners CHCP for their collaboration and seeing the project through.”
Prior to the move, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) carried out a six-week engagement with patients to understand any barriers that people may experience with the move. Just under 500 people gave their views online and at venues in the region, and the full engagement report has been published online.
The integration of the urgent care services in Hull has been made possible with £2.77m funding from the £250m boost towards helping service recovery and managing demand this winter, which was announced last year.
It aims to ease pressures on the Emergency Department at the hospital by reducing overcrowding, “inappropriate attendances” and patient waiting times.