Hammersmith Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre Shuts Overnight from Friday
Money saving measure means no service in Du Cane Road from midnight till 8am
Hammersmith Hospital's Urgent Treatment Centre is to shut overnight from this Friday, 1 November.
Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group, or CCG is informing local residents in Shepherd's Bush and surrounding areas that the centre in Du Cane Road will now only be open from 8am till 12 midnight, seven days a week.
The decision to go ahead with the overnight was announced in August, following a public consultation earlier in the year.
Health bosses said that not enough people were using the centre late at night – with an average of just five patients turning up for care.
The majority of patients could have been seen the next day by a GP, nurse, pharmacist or healthcare assistant, Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group said.
At the time, a CCG spokeswoman said the governing body made the decision as "while the UCC is well-used in the daytime, overnight this drops significantly to an average of five patients per night".
She added that the decision was made after assessing the potential impact of the change and the CCG "is confident that these changes are clinically safe and present no risks to our local residents".
However Anne Drinkell from HAFSON (Hammersmith and Fulham Save the NHS) said: "Reducing the opening hours at Hammersmith Hospital’s Urgent Care Centre is yet again targeting cuts at communities with very high levels of deprivation and poorer than average health.
" It’s likely to be counter productive leading to longer queues in local A&E departments."
The urgent care centre at Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham Palace Road will remain open round the clock, and patients are also being told they can go to the centres at St Mary’s in Paddington and Central Middlesex in Park Royal.
The CCG says in its statement: " We've distributed information on the primary and urgent care services available in the borough.
"Take a look at our leaflet to to find out more, including information about local UTCs, GP local practice hubs (bookable via the local GP practice / NHS 111) and the Health Help Now app."
The CCG statement also reconfirms that the outcome of consultation and engagement also means no changes will be made this year to the three GP practices in Hammersmith and Fulham offering evening and weekend appointments (Park View Practice, Brook Green Medical Centre and Cassidy Medical Centre).
Other local urgent treatment centres are confident that they can manage the demand for urgent care, and the CCG has installed a telephone to call NHS 111 outside Hammersmith Urgent Treatment Centre, should the centre be closed when residents arrive.
Dr James Cavanagh, Chair of Hammersmith and Fulham CCG said: "We would like to reassure residents that they will continue to receive safe and effective healthcare from the local NHS. We have a range of services that are available to people, so residents can access the right care in the right place for their needs.
" The CCG is providing as much information as possible on how these services can be accessed. We are ensuring the campaign reaches people in north of the borough and have worked with the Healthwatch Local Committee to produce these communications."
October 28, 2019