Hundreds sign MP's emergency care upgrade letter

Hundreds of residents have signed an MP's open letter calling on NHS bosses to provide doctor-led urgent care in a town's hospital.

Rugby MP John Slinger is campaigning for an upgrade to the current nurse-led Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at the Hospital of St Cross due to population growth and pressure on nearby A&E departments.

He told constituents: "Following my meeting with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) last week, I'm now asking the NHS to deliver it."

More than 300 people have signed the letter to the chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire ICB since the MP shared it on Saturday morning.

The hospital used to have an accident and emergency department, but it closed in 1997.

The MP's letter said residents were proud of the hospital, which provided an excellent service, but worried about access to emergency care.

"Rugby's population grew by more than 14% in ten years, and nearby A&E departments are under heavy pressure," the MP said.

"The nurses at St Cross do a brilliant job, but a town growing this fast needs more doctors at its local hospital, and soon."

While he welcomed changes that had brought GP out-of-hours care into the UTC, he said a further upgrade was needed "as soon as possible", which had been called for by campaigners "for many years".

He said the ICB was "redesigning urgent care right now", so it was the moment for Rugby residents "to be heard".

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

The NHS Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme has been taking steps to respond to increasing demand, such as providing out-of-hours GP support at St Cross.

On its website, the ICB said Rugby residents had fed back concerns relating to long waiting times and how far it was to the closest A&E at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

Next, the programme would design and deliver "a more integrated model of care", focusing on patients receiving "the right advice and access to services before they reach hospital", it added.

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".

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