Two walk-in urgent care centres are to be created at Gravesham Community Hospital and Darent Valley Hospital in a bold new decision to change the face of urgent care services in the region.
NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has today (January 16) approved the locations of the two new Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs), which are expected to be in place by summer 2020.
This will see the walk-in services at Whitehorse Surgery relocated to Gravesham Community Hospital, whilst the other UTC will be co-located within the A&E department at Darent Valley Hospital.
The governing body's decision follows a 12-week consultation which received an unprecedented 16,500 responses from the public, mostly showing support for a Gravesham site.
The two UTCs will both treat minor illnesses and injuries, aiming to relieve pressure on the region's A&E departments.
The centre at Darent Valley Hospital will also provide additional critical care due to its co-location in the A&E department, whilst GP and other services located in North Fleet will remain on site and unchanged.
The move marks the first phase towards having fully networked sites providing 'joined up' urgent care services for the people of Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley, a nationwide in how the NHS offers care.
Dr Nigel Sewell, local GP and the CCG’s Clinical Lead for Urgent Care called the governing body’s decision "good news for local people", stating: "It is our ambition to implement the new Urgent Treatment Centres as quickly as possible.
"The public consultation process gave us greater understanding of the key issues affecting local people and we have adjusted our arrangements for the new Urgent Treatment Centre to address the well placed concerns that people raised."
He added that the CCG looked forward to working closely with its partners to ensure there is a smooth transition of services from the walk-in centre and minor injuries unit to the new UTCs.
The main concerns raised by residents were mainly focused on the distance they'd need to travel to receive urgent care, as well as traffic, congestion and public transport concerns.
The CCG published a 'decision making business case' this week
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