Last week we shared the news of our short-term business continuity measure at the urgent treatment centres (UTCs) in Ripley and Ilkeston. We have kept the position under daily review with the aim of safely returning the service back to Ilkeston as soon as possible. Having thoroughly explored all available options, trying to balance the availability of suitably qualified clinical staff against service demand, we have decided to keep the current arrangement in place until at least 23 June. We’ve worked incredibly hard over the past week to strengthen our staffing, working with partners and agencies, and we’re actively training and inducting new starters to ensure seamless integration into our teams. We’re also actively recruiting into permanent clinical leadership positions.
The temporary relocation of Ilkeston’s unit to Ripley will allow us to see and treat about the same number of patients as we have been in recent months, but we remain fully committed to returning to both sites as soon as we can safely do so.
Key points:
- All urgent treatment centre services and staff from Ilkeston’s UTC will remain at Ripley Hospital’s UTC until at least 23 June.
- Ripley UTC will operate a full walk-in and appointment service (appointments accessible via NHS 111).
- All other patient services at Ilkeston and Ripley Hospitals are unaffected, aside from the phlebotomy service at Ripley which has been temporarily moved elsewhere on the same site.
- This proactive step will enable us to manage the current staffing challenges and continue to provide high-quality urgent care services for local communities.
- We are taking the opportunity to carry out various refurbishments to the unit at Ilkeston, to improve the staff and patient care environment.
We’re very sorry about this temporary arrangement, and we fully appreciate the impact and inconvenience it may have on local citizens should they require urgent care from us. Thank you for your continued understanding as we navigate this extremely challenging situation.