A health team who provide 24 hours-a-day care in Hartlepool urgent care have issued a message to their community – “we are here to treat a range of minor illness concerns and injuries”.
The service at the University Hospital of Hartlepool can help with a variety of non-life threatening health issues not needing emergency department care.
These include:
- sprains or strains
- suspected broken bones as a result of injury to arms and lower legs
- minor head injuries
- cuts, grazes and foreign bodies
- minor burns
- eye, ear, nose and throat problems
- a high temperature
- stomach pain and vomiting
- urinary symptoms and coughs and colds.
Call 111
If you are not sure what to do, you should always contact NHS 111 by visiting 111.nhs.uk or calling 111 who can advise and support.
The service, which opened in 2017, is open seven days a week and all hours of the day.
It includes care from an experienced health team including nurse practitioners working alongside GP colleagues who can manage a patient’s care, both adults and children.
Nicola Grieves, clinical lead for the urgent care service, said: “We have an experienced and dedicated team of health professionals working from our urgent care centre in Hartlepool.
“This is not a service to be used in an emergency, but there are so many injuries and health issues the team are able to treat.
“Together, this team is helping improve the health of so many people across the town. The service has been a real success.
“We need to ensure our community is using the right service at the right time. A trip to emergency care isn’t always the right option.”
The same level of care and treatment
The service is one of two urgent care centres run by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.
The other site is located at the University Hospital of North Tees.
Lynne Morris, a nurse practitioner in urgent care, said: “We are the same team across both of the Trust’s hospital sites.
“There is no difference in the service. It’s the same level of care and treatment we can provide.
“We treat a whole range of health issues from this site, providing hands on care for those who need our help.”
Hartlepool MP visits urgent care
Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer visited the urgent care centre last month.
She said: “I recently visited the urgent care centre at the University Hospital in Hartlepool and was encouraged by the wide range of accidents and complaints it can deal with. There is no need to travel to North Tees unless you have a life-threatening injury or emergency.
“We have a fantastic resource here in our town, open 24/7. Please make full use of it so we can build on what we have and show the need to keep services here in Hartlepool.”
