Urgent treatment centre

The urgent treatment centre at the New QEII Hospital is open every day from 8am to 10pm. Our team of emergency nurse practitioners (ENPs) and GPs can treat a range of minor illnesses and injuries in adults and children, including:

• Muscle and joint injuries, such as sprains and dislocations
• Bites, stings, cuts, bruises and grazes
• Burns and scalds
• Minor eye injuries
• Minor head injuries
• Objects stuck in ears or noses

Not sure what care you need?

If you or a family member or loved one has a minor illness or injury, always contact your GP first for advice and an appointment. You can also get advice from a local pharmacy and from NHS 111, either by calling 111 or online.

For a suspected heart attack, stroke or any other serious or life-threatening illness or injury in an adult or a child, always call 999 immediately.

If you cannot get a GP appointment and your condition is urgent, or you’re advised to seek help by 111, our Urgent Treatment Centre is open every day from 8am to 10pm. You don’t need an appointment to be seen – you can walk in between 8am and 10pm. We also provide pre-booked appointments with GPs at the centre which are made via NHS 111.

What happens at the Centre

When you arrive, you will be booked in by one of our receptionists and a senior nurse will then triage (assess) you based on the information you have given us. This will help our team to decide how urgent your condition is and whether you need to be seen by an emergency nurse practitioner (ENP) or a GP. The ENP or GP will then fully assess you and decide on the best treatment and care. We’ll also take x-rays or urine samples to help diagnose your condition if required.

Waiting times at the centre

The waiting time to be seen in the urgent treatment centre will usually be shorter than at an emergency department, but it will vary depending on how busy the centre is and the urgency of your condition or injury. Our nurses will prioritise the order that people are seen in, depending on how unwell they are or the nature of their injury. This means that someone who arrives after you may be called through to be seen more quickly.

If you come to the centre for a pre-booked GP appointment through NHS 111, we will see you as close to your appointment time as possible. There may be times when other patient’s condition means they have to take priority and we may need to ask you to wait longer than your booked appointment time.

Please be aware that there may be times when the Centre is full and we cannot see anyone else that day. If this is the case, we will redirect you to the most appropriate service for you.

Finding the centre

The urgent treatment centre is on the ground floor of the New QEII Hospital in the yellow zone. You can find it easily from either the main entrance in the car park or the separate entrance at the side of the hospital building.

If we can’t treat you at the urgent treatment centre

If we think you need care or diagnostics (for example blood tests or a chest x-ray) which we are unable to provide at the urgent treatment centre, we will redirect you to the emergency department at the Lister Hospital. We will fully assess you first to agree on the safest way for you to get to the Lister Hospital. Depending on your condition, you may need to be transferred by ambulance or it may be safe for you to travel there yourself.