New walk-in treatment centre to open at Hull Royal Infirmary

The first part of the £2.7m centre is set to open early in January

The first stage of a new £2.7m Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) is to open on 8 January at Hull Royal Infirmary.

The new unit aims to ease pressures on the hospital's Emergency Department by reducing overcrowding and patient waiting times.

A walk-in centre will allow people to be seen between 08:00 and 20:00 seven days a week.

It replaces the one at the Wilberforce Health Centre, but GP services at the Story Street building will remain.

By April the new hospital unit will expand to become a fully-fledged UTC.

Gemma Bradley from City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP), which will run the new building, said the new location would make it much easier for the team to work with emergency staff at Hull Royal Infirmary.

"Having the walk-in on the same site as the hospital will mean that if people need further treatment, then they're in the right place," she said.

"We're looking forward to having more space and better facilities for our patients and staff, too."

CHCP said patients registered at the Wilberforce Health Centre would not be affected by the move.

The plan is to eventually replace the existing city centre UTC at the Wilberforce Health Centre

Paul Walker from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Hull University Hospitals is delighted to collaborate with our valued partners in establishing a walk-in centre at our Hull Royal site.

"This initiative aims to facilitate patients' access to the most suitable healthcare setting for their needs, effectively safeguarding capacity at the Emergency Department for those with the most urgent requirements."

In March, the Accident and Emergency department at the hospital was rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission. Speaking at the time, the trust apologised to anyone who had not received "the quality of care we always aim to provide" and said some issues had already been addressed.