Thousands back call for urgent care upgrade

Thousands of residents have signed an MP's open letter calling on NHS bosses to provide doctor-led urgent care at a town's hospital, just days after it was launched.

Rugby MP John Slinger said the response showed the strength of feeling among residents who believe people in the town should not have to travel to Coventry for urgent treatment.

The letter calls for the nurse-led Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Hospital of St Cross in Rugby to be upgraded so more patients can be seen by doctors closer to home.

"More than 2,300 people have added their names in just two days. That shows how strongly people across Rugby and the surrounding area feel that urgent care needs to improve," Slinger said.

Slinger argues that Rugby's healthcare provision has not kept pace with the town's growth.

He said the borough's population grew by 14.3% between 2011 and 2021, while accident and emergency departments at nearby hospitals, including University Hospital Coventry, continue to face significant pressure.

The BBC has contacted the ICB for a response to the open letter.

Slinger's Facebook post promoting the campaign has been viewed more than 23,000 times and shared 155 times since he published it on Saturday morning.

Hospital of St Cross previously had its own A&E department, but it closed in 1997.

While praising staff at the hospital, Slinger said he wanted nurses at the UTC to be "supported by doctors" so that "more residents can get the care they need closer to home".

In the letter, addressed to Simon Trickett, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), he said concern about urgent care provision in Rugby had existed "for several years".

He welcomed recent changes that brought GP out-of-hours services into the UTC but said more needed to be done.

Slinger has called for the centre to be upgraded "as soon as possible" to provide more doctor-led treatment. He argued that Rugby residents should not have to depend on already stretched neighbouring emergency departments for care that could be delivered locally.

He said the ICB was currently redesigning urgent care services, making this an important moment for local people "to be heard".

The NHS Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme has already introduced measures aimed at managing demand, including out-of-hours GP support at Hospital of St Cross.

The ICB has previously said Rugby residents raised concerns about long waiting times and the distance to their nearest A&E department at University Hospital Coventry.

The programme said its next step would be to design and deliver "a more integrated model of care", focusing on patients receiving "the right advice and access to services before they reach hospital".

This would include improvements to UTCs, "strengthening the provision of care available during evenings and weekends, and developing a single point of access for healthcare professionals".

Slinger is due to formally present the letter to the ICB's chief executive later this week.

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