Three North Tyneside walk-in centres to close
Three North Tyneside walk-in centres are to close by October next year.
It's after a major review of NHS urgent care in North Tyneside decided to provide a 24-hour urgent care service at a single site for the first time.
It means that the existing walk-in centres at Battle Hill, North Tyneside General Hospital and Shiremoor Paediatric Minor Injuries Unit will shut next year.
The location and provider for the new integrated service is still to be decided.
The existing walk-in services at North Tyneside General Hospital, Battle Hill Health Centre and Shiremoor Health Centre will be decommissioned by 30 September 2017.
Scenario 1: A single North Tyneside Urgent Care Centre based at North Tyneside General Hospital (Rake Lane)
Scenario 2: A single North Tyneside Urgent Care Centre based at Battle Hill
Scenario 3: A single North Tyneside Urgent Care Centre based at North Tyneside General Hospital (Rake Lane), supported by locality-based minor ailments services in three other areas (Killingworth, Wallsend, Whitley Bay)
Scenario 4: A single North Tyneside Urgent Care Centre based at Battle Hill, supported by locality-based minor ailments services in three other areas (Killingworth, Wallsend, Whitley Bay)
What is urgent care?
Urgent care is any form of medical attention that people need to access quickly but that is not serious enough to need a visit to the Emergency Department (A&E).
This could include injuries, an illness or medical condition which needs advice from a GP, pharmacist, NHS 111, a walk-in centre or the out-of-hours GP service.