By Joe Locker and Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporters
Newark’s Urgent Treatment Centre will remain permanently closed overnight due to low patient numbers and “challenging” staffing problems, health bosses say.
The centre is currently open from 9am to 10pm, seven days per week, treating patients with injuries including cuts, simple bone breaks, wounds, minor burns and minor head, eye and back injuries.
The centre, which is run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust (SFH), opened for overnight admissions before a temporary closure in April 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However the closure was then extended in 2021, 2022, and again in June 2023 due to unsafe staffing levels.
The Integrated Care Board (ICB), which organises Nottingham and Nottinghamshire healthcare services, has now made a final decision on the opening hours following consultation with residents and healthcare experts.
The centre at Newark Hospital, on Boundary Road, will now only open between 8am to 10.30pm, seven days a week, with the last patient admitted at 9.30pm.
It is expected the new hours will be in place from Summer 2024.
During a briefing on Monday, March 18, Dave Briggs, the medical director for the ICB, said the sustainability of the centre had become problematic.
This was largely due to low numbers of patients, with an average of one to two being seen each night compared to four to six during the day, as well as staffing problems.
“If you have a condition such as a heart attack or a stroke, where every second counts, then those services have to be available 24 hours, seven days a week to give everyone the best outcomes,” he said.
“For urgent treatment and urgent care conditions, these are not as time sensitive, therefore having 24-hour coverage of that service doesn’t affect outcomes.
“In this particular case with our Urgent Treatment Centre in Newark the usage overnight was very low. Therefore the sustainability of that service with such a low case mix was really problematic… combined with the difficulty in staffing.”
The ICB says the new permanent opening hours exceed the current opening hours which are 9am to 10pm.
The service will be open for 14.5 hours per day, which the ICB says exceeds the 12-hour minimum national standard set by NHS England.
This is despite an extensive ‘listening exercise’, which gathered the views of more than 2,000 people, revealing the majority of people in the community hoped for the centre to return to 24 hours or for it to be an A&E.
But a ‘clinical senate’, a panel made up of nurses, doctors, GPs and NHS leaders from across the East Midlands unanimously concluded that the Urgent Treatment Centre should be permanently closed overnight.
Victoria McGregor-Riley, Commissioning Delivery Director of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the decision was not a financial one.
She said earlier opening hours better suit younger families and people with children, or those seeking clinical support before work.
“We still continue to be challenged around staffing,” she added.
“It still continues to be a concern. We are working very closely with existing staff, trying to support ongoing recruitment and retention of course.
“However we feel the new operating times also give an opportunity for staff to work a little bit more flexibly, which actually could appeal to many people who are wanting to have reduced hours or part-time hours or family-friendly hours.
“We continue to work closely with staff to make sure we have a good, resilient service.
“We think these new operating times will offer that more sustainable model moving forward.”
While a decision on permanent opening hours has been made “in the best interests” of the local community, the ICB and Sherwood Forest Hospitals say they have committed to review the impact of the new opening hours in 12 months’ time.
