The Urgent Treatment Centre at Wycombe Hospital


When I stood for election in 2015 and 2017, I said I was demanding an NHS Urgent Treatment Centre at Wycombe Hospital, which is classed by the NHS as a Type 3 A&E. I am delighted our Urgent Treatment Centre was officially opened in December 2018.

The Centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is led by GPs and staffed by doctors and nurses. You can just turn-up at the centre if you need urgent, but not life-threatening, medical attention. The Urgent Treatment Centre complements the specialist heart and stroke units at our Hospital.

The Urgent Treatment Centre can treat many different medical problems, from sprains, suspected broken limbs, minor head injuries, cuts and bites, minor burns, ear and throat infections, skin rashes, eye problems, feverish illnesses, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea and emergency contraception. Children who are seriously injured or ill, or who have sustained a head injury, are treated in the specialist paediatric unit at Stoke Mandeville. X-rays are available between 8am and 10pm.

The Care Quality Commission, the Government Agency responsible for assessing the quality of NHS provision, last reviewed the Urgent Treatment Centre in March this year when it undertook an unannounced inspection. It found all the elements of treatment – patient safety, effectiveness, caring and responsive, and leadership were Good. It commented that the staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect, and that patients were able to access care and treatment within appropriate timescales for their needs.

The Urgent Treatment Centre is equipped to diagnose and deal with many of the most common ailments people attend A&E for, but if you are having a heart attack or stroke and dial 999, you can expect to be taken to Wycombe Hospital in an ambulance from wherever you are in the county. The heart and stroke unit has received national awards and is considered to be among the top places to receive treatment for heart conditions and stroke in the country.

Finally, as Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group advise:

If you think your life is at risk, you should call 999. […]

Although you can ‘walk in’ and book an appointment at the urgent treatment centre, if you’re worried about an urgent medical concern you should call 111 first and speak to a fully trained advisor in the NHS 111 service.

The NHS has provided this guide to how to choose treatment well, which appears on various sites:

Make the right choice
Make the right choice for healthcare (graphic produced by the NHS)

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