Home / Health / Canterbury Faces Urgent Care Cuts
Canterbury Faces Urgent Care Cuts
12 Jul
Summary
- Review underway for potential reduction of urgent care hours at KCH.
- Canterbury's A&E has been downgraded since 2005.
- MP expresses deep concern and plans to contact Health Secretary.
The Kent & Canterbury Hospital's Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) is undergoing a review that could lead to a reduction in its operating hours. Documents reveal that the Integrated Care Board and East Kent Hospitals Trust are examining the current model, which utilizes an Emergency Nurse Practitioner/minor injury dominant approach overnight.
Discussions indicate that the current overnight staffing is both expensive and inconsistent, with a low number of attendees. An internal email suggests the potential closure of the overnight service has been discussed since last year, although no final decisions or timeframes have been set. Emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks in Canterbury have been diverted to Ashford or Margate since the facility's downgrade from an A&E department in 2005.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has voiced strong opposition to the review, describing the prospect of reduced local urgent care provision as "preposterous" and "dangerous." She plans to contact the Secretary of State for Health urgently. A petition calling for the reinstatement of a full A&E department at the hospital garnered almost 9,000 signatures earlier this year.
