The new Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at the Great Western Hospital has opened to patients two weeks behind schedule.
Originally due to open on 13th July the UTC finally opened its doors this morning after ‘finishing touches’ were completed.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony earlier this month Kevin McNamara, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: “Today, we officially opened our new Urgent Treatment Centre – a modern, fit-for-purpose building which will enable clinical teams to treat patients in the best possible environment.
“We successfully bid for £15m of national funding to help get us started, but today wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support along the way of a number of people and organisations.
“It’s well-known that the health and care system is extremely busy and has been under significant pressure for some considerable time. Last year here at GWH we saw more than 117,000 attendances in urgent and emergency care.
“Whilst we know that a new building won’t solve the issues the system is experiencing, it does give us the chance for our fantastic multi-disciplinary teams to work together with colleagues from across the health and social care system to try to give patients the care they need it when they need it, and in the right place.”
The UTC will be open 365 days a year, 7:00am – 10:00pm for patients to book in, closing at midnight.
Local people are encouraged to call NHS 111 in the first instance, with trained operators who can advise of the appropriate healthcare option and book in for a timed appointment at the UTC if needed.
