We need to inform everyone of a short-term operational contingency measure in our urgent treatment centre (UTC) services in Ripley and Ilkeston. Both urgent care centres have been under significant pressure in recent months, with Ilkeston’s unit operating an appointment-only service since November 2023. Over the past few weeks, the availability of suitably qualified clinical staff has been increasingly stretching for both units, and we need to ensure our teams are not put under further undue pressure and that patients continue to receive safe care. Therefore, for an initial period of one week, we have made the decision to temporarily consolidate the services of both units on to the Ripley Hospital site. We’ve explored all possible options, including additional staffing being brought in short-term to cover for sickness, planned absences and other vacancies, but unfortunately this short-term contingency measure has now become essential for us to deliver a safe service in the face of increasing patient demand and complexity. We anticipate that the temporary consolidation will allow us to continue serving broadly the same number of patients as we have been in recent months, and we remain committed to operating safely across both sites once again as soon as it is safe to do so.
Key points:
- From today (Friday 7 June 2024), all urgent treatment centre services and staff currently at Ilkeston Hospital will be transferred to Ripley Hospital’s UTC.
- This means a short-term relocation of Ilkeston Hospital’s UTC until we can ensure adequate clinical staffing to operate safely across both sites.
- All other patient services at Ilkeston and Ripley Hospitals are unaffected and will operate as normal.
- This proactive step will ensure we can manage the current staffing challenges and continue to provide high-quality urgent care services for local communities.
- Ripley UTC will operate a full walk-in and appointment service (appointments accessible via NHS 111).
We’re very sorry to have to make this temporary arrangement, and we fully appreciate the impact and inconvenience it may have on local citizens should they require urgent care from us. It was not a decision taken lightly, but rather as a necessary measure to ensure the continued safety of all patients. Thank you for your understanding as we continue to navigate this challenging situation. NHS workforce challenges aren’t anything unique to Derbyshire, and we continue to work together across the local health and care system to monitor the impact and return to normal operations as soon as we can safely do so.