NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group agree to keep the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm open until 10pm
‘The urgent care centre at Chase Farm Hospital is there if you, or your child, needs medical treatment or advice for a minor illness or injury that isn’t life-threatening. This could include: sprains, strains, and broken bones; minor burns and scalds; minor head and eye injuries; bites and stings and minor illnesses'.
Despite considering the proposal to close the Centre at 9:00pm, in September 2019, NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group agreed to keep the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm open until 10pm.
At Healthwatch Enfield we have taken an active interest in the opening hours of the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm Hospital. Following our intervention in February 2019, the opening hours were retained until 10pm before a proposal to close the Centre at 9pm was put to the public in June 2019.
During the period, we engaged with almost 400 Enfield residents to hear their views about the proposals to reduce the opening times of the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm Hospital.
84% of you told us that you did not agree with the proposals. You told us about concerns relating to the provision of urgent care services in Enfield, the potential difficulties of accessing urgent care services in Enfield and the impact this will have on A&E departments and the ambulance service. You continued to tell us stories where you have used the Urgent Care Centre as an alternative to attending A&E and received high quality, timely care.
Using your views and experiences, we published a report in August, ‘What local people think about the proposals to reduce the opening times of the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm Hospital’. We also wrote to NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group, asking them to consider local people’s views as the decision about the opening hours was being made.
We are delighted that the views of local people reflect the decision made by NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning. We will continue to monitor the opening hours of the Urgent Care Centre at Chase Farm Hospital and we will seek to ensure that the voices of local residents are represented as further reviews take place
