New emergency centre plans will help A&E strain

The UTC would be set up next to the A&E at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle

Plans to build a new urgent treatment centre (UTC) to alleviate strain on an A&E department have been approved.

The UTC would be set up next to the A&E at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, in a proposal granted by Newcastle City Council on Friday.

Newcastle Hospitals bosses said it would be a "dedicated and modern facility for people who need help with an urgent health need which cannot wait or be treated at home".

Two remaining UTCs at Ponteland Road in Cowgate and Molineux Street in Byker would remain open as normal, the Newcastle Hospitals NHS trust confirmed.

The site would operate 24 hours daily, and is expected to open before the end of 2025, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The move, which sees Robertson Construction appointed for the project, comes after the closure of the walk-in centre on Westgate Road.

Rob Harrison, acting chief executive of the Newcastle Hospitals, said the facility would mean patients "would be able to see the right person to meet their needs".

"As a purpose-built addition to our RVI site, the centre will provide a dedicated and modern facility for people who need help with an urgent health need which cannot wait or be treated at home," he added.

Westgate walk-in centre permanently closed in November

The trust said that access to all services would not be disrupted while the new centre was being built.

The council heard that extra parking was not being provided, which means patients accessing the UTC would need to use existing spaces around the RVI site.

Lib Dem councillor Doreen Huddart raised concerns about Richardson Road and Queen Victoria Road already suffering from traffic congestion.

However, civic centre transport officials said that they believed the opening of the UTC would not have an unacceptable impact on the roads around the city centre hospital, believing that demand for it could be managed within the existing parking provision at the RVI.