Have your say about the urgent treatment centre in Buxton’s new health hub

There are currently five urgent treatment centres (UTCs) across Derbyshire.  One of them is in High Peak – Buxton Hospital on London Road. Derby and  Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is keen to discover what  people think of UTCs and they are asking people to describe their  experiences and their expectations in this survey: 

https://derbyshireinvolvement.co.uk/urgent-treatment-centres 

UTCs are all the places that used to be called minor injury units, walk-in  centres or urgent care centres. They are GP-led centres, open for twelve  hours everyday. UTCs are designed to deal with unexpected problems and  injuries which need prompt attention but don’t necessarily require a trip to  A&E – sprains, minor burns, that sort of thing. Buxton’s nearest ‘proper’  casualty departments are at Chesterfield, Stepping Hill and Macclesfield so a  local unit does make sense for us. A convenient centre that can treat minor  ailments and exclude more serious problems might save you a slog up the  A6 and a long spell in a chilly waiting room.  

The Buxton Hospital UTC is moving. A new, centralised health hub is to be  built on the old Buxton Water site next to the station. The planning proposal  for the hub suggests that it will subsume Buxton Hospital, Cavendish  Hospital and all four Buxton general practices. It may even house the library.  The central location, just across the road from the Springs shopping centre,  should prove convenient. 

However, a floor plan of the site shows that the proposed space for the new  UTC is tiny – far less than is currently available at Buxton Hospital. The  proposal also makes no mention of the presence or absence of x-ray  facilities. It would be a backward step for patients and staff alike if the new  unit can do less than the one we already have at Buxton Hospital.