NHS urgent treatment centre plans unveiled

The urgent treatment centre would be able to accommodate 350 patients

Plans for a new urgent treatment centre to be built in Smethwick have been unveiled.

The facility would be designed to cut A&E waiting times at the new £988m Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH).

Earmarked to open in summer 2025, the centre would be used to assess patients and direct non-emergency cases away from the hospital, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.

The MMUH is due to open in October – six years after the original opening date.

After originally due to open in 2018, NHS bosses announced in April a further six-month delay.

A trust statement included with the application for the centre said: "When patients arrive at the urgent treatment centre, they will be triaged and directed straight to the unit that will treat them, avoiding emergency department attendance where appropriate.

"The urgent treatment centre will initially provide urgent care only but will have both the capability and capacity to serve patients with minor injuries at a later date."

The centre would be designed to accommodate an average of 230 patients and up to 350 patients with around 40 staff.

The construction of the hospital was hampered by delays following the collapse of construction firm Carillion in 2018 and the Covid-19 pandemic.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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