Consultation launched on proposed relocation of Peterborough’s Urgent Treatment Centre

A new consultation exercise on the project has been launched today (Wednesday) by Cambridgeshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

The existing Urgent Treatment Centre sees people with a range of urgent, but not life-threatening, illnesses and injuries such as sprains, minor burns and scalds, sports injuries, minor head injuries and more. These are the types of illnesses and injuries that if left untreated may become more severe quite quickly.

The proposals would see the relatively new Urgent Treatment Centre moving from its current site at the City Care Centre on Thorpe Road in Peterborough to Peterborough City Hospital at Bretton Gate on the outskirts.

This would mean patients having to travel out of the city for walk-in treatment at the hospital site rather than having the accessibility of being able to easily walk or catch public transport into the city centre to visit the existing UTC, which had been designed to be centrally accessible.

There have also been concerns about the availability of parking on the city hospital site.

Dr Vaz Ahmed, Emergency Medicine Consultant and clinical lead of emergency and urgent care for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough STP, explains: “Moving these services to one location would create a fully integrated urgent and emergency service. Creating a single front door for all urgent and emergency services, which would mean people would only have to travel to one location for their urgent and emergency health needs, rather than trying to work out which service is the right one for them.

“When we spoke to our local community during the BIG conversation last year, 73 per cent of people said they would like just one place to contact for advice and treatment that could book you an urgent appointment with the right service within two days, or sooner if needed. By bringing together the Urgent Treatment Centre and the Emergency Department at Peterborough City Hospital we can create a seamless service for people with urgent or emergency health needs.”

The consultation is being led by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the organisation responsible for buying NHS services in the local area, and will run from Wednesday 5 August until Wednesday 30 September.

You can have your say by completing a survey online here, or by joining one of the online consultation events: on Wednesday August 19 at 5pm to 6.30pm; or Thursday September 10 at 5.30pm to 7pm. Details of how to join the virtual events can be found on their website here.

People can also have their say by emailing [email protected] or telephoning 01223 725400 to request a hard copy of the survey.

Dr Andrew Anderson, Urgent and Emergency Care Lead at the CCG, added: “Due to the current Government guidance relating to social distancing, we have moved our consultation online and will be working with a range of local partners and groups to ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to share their views. I would encourage anyone who uses these local services to share their views with us before September 30.”

You can view the consultation document and survey here.