Queen Mary's Urgent Treatment Centre Back in Action
Roehampton facility available to Wandsworth residents who book ahead
Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton. Picture: St George's NHS Trust
the urgent treatment centre at Roehampton’s Queen Mary’s Hospital has reopened this Tuesday (1 December).
The facility currently has the capacity to provide up to 480 urgent and routine appointments each week for local people.
Appointments are initially being offered to Wandsworth borough residents only - although plans are in place to extend it to neighbouring boroughs like Richmond if the initiative proves successful.
The Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Queen Mary’s closed in March to ensure the safety of patients and staff, as there was simply not enough space to separate walk-in patients with Covid-19 symptoms and others using the service.
To get services up and running again and minimise the risk to patients and staff from coronavirus, local health service providers and GPs have developed new arrangements which aim to make it safe and convenient for patients.
Led by Battersea Healthcare CIC (Wandsworth GP Federation), with support from St George’s Hospital, the ‘enhanced primary care hub’ will offer a wide range of urgent and other community treatments through bookable same day or routine appointments.
Local GP services will provide urgent and routine appointments at the unit while patients will be able to book their own appointments via the NHS 111 service. Unlike before, however, the centre will not be offering a walk-in service for now.
The centre is set to provide same day urgent care from 8am to 8pm – with two emergency care clinicians provided by St George’s able to provide 308 appointments per week, with an on-site GP, available from 3pm to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday, expected to make 172 appointments a week.
The planned opening had been confirmed last month to Putney MP Fleur Anderson by Health Minister Edward Argar.
She said, “The reopening of the Minor Injuries Unit will ensure that the 18,000 local residents who use the centre each year will have access to key medical care and services throughout winter.”
The reopening has been welcomed by Wandsworth’s cabinet member for adult social care and health Cllr Clare Salier, who described it as “excellent news for the people of Wandsworth”.
She said, “The reopening of this important local health facility will come as a huge relief to our residents who will once again be able to receive treatment for a range of urgent but non-emergency medical services at Queen Mary’s.
“It will provide a great alternative for people who will no longer need to attend St George’s A&E department for treatment to a minor injury or ailment.
“The resumption of these important community medical treatments at Queen Mary’s is the outcome we at the council have been calling for since services were suspended earlier this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.”
December 3, 2020