Keswick’s Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) will be closed for six days this week due to temporary staffing pressures.
The centre will be closed from today (Tuesday 16th December) and is planned to re-open on Monday 22nd December.
The Trust has had to take this decision due to current levels of staff sickness. During the closure, the Urgent Treatment Centre at Penrith and A&E departments at the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital are still open as usual. The opening hours for Penrith UTC are 8.00am until 10.00pm, seven days a week.
Penrith UTC is equipped to diagnose and treat many of the most common ailments. A&E departments have to prioritise the most serious cases first so if your condition is less serious, but cannot wait until you can see a GP, a UTC may be the best place for you.
Imran Devji, Chief Operating Officer at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our priority is always on safety and if we do not have safe staffing levels, we have to take some difficult decisions. By temporarily closing Keswick UTC this week, we can make sure we have staffing levels in place at Penrith UTC to continue to provide safe and high quality care.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we are grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding while we work hard to re-open the Centre as soon as possible.”
You can check live waiting times and opening hours of urgent and emergency services at: ncic.nhs.uk/locations/emergency-care-hub