A TWELVE-WEEK consultation
will be held on plans which could see changes to urgent care services at Solihull Hospital
The consultation will take
place between April and July and any changes will be put in place for July.
Solihull Clinical
Commissioning Group – which funds NHS services – is reviewing urgent care with
other commissioning groups in Birmingham
This has led to fears that
the walk-in centre could close.
In a report to councillors it
says there is “unnecessary duplication” between Solihull Hospital
Their report said: “This
often results in confusion for people trying to decide where best they should
go when they are in a crisis.
“Children under the age of 16
and people over 65 cannot get some emergency care at the site and may have to
go elsewhere if they’re in crisis.
“Figures show 65 per cent of
our residents needing urgent and emergency care get this from elsewhere
suggesting improvements can and should be made to cater for the needs of more
of our residents.”
It adds: “We think there is
the opportunity to improve the service on the Solihull Hospital
Changes will cut down on
patients having to be referred to other hospitals, it adds and said there would
be an “open and transparent consultation”.
A petition opposed to a
closure of the walk-in centre said: “This centre provides a vital facility for
our community as well as relieving pressure on the hospital's A&E
department and the ambulance service.” It so far has 292 signatures.
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