Improving urgent and emergency care: FAQs

You can find links to our online survey and easy read survey at https://staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk/uec-get-involved

We will record all the answers to our survey, and any feedback given to us at meetings and events. We will analyse the feedback and produce a detailed report, which will be available to read online. The Integrated Care Board will use the findings to inform any decisions they make about urgent and emergency care services.

Emergency care, given in emergency departments (EDs), also called A&E or casualty, is treatment for life-threating illnesses or injuries where you need care as soon as possible. This NHS webpage on when to call 999 has information on emergency medical conditions, like signs of a heart attack or stroke.

Urgent care: is for an illness or injury that needs urgent attention but is not a life-threatening situation. This NHS webpage has information about when to visit urgent treatment centres or other urgent care services. 

Even if you live near a hospital with an emergency department, this might not be the best place for you to be seen – if you don’t have an emergency health condition. You will wait much longer to get help than you would elsewhere, as NHS staff will be busy helping other people with more serious medical needs.

If you’re not sure, NHS 111 can assess your need and direct you to the most appropriate service. Depending on the situation, this could be your GP’s out-of-hours service, a minor injuries unit or a new urgent treatment centre.

If you have a minor illness, NHS 111 may advise seeing your local pharmacist, or book you a pharmacy consultation. They can also advise on getting urgent dental care, help for eye conditions or injuries, and urgent mental health support.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can go online, call 111, or use the NHS app.

You should contact NHS 111 if you have an urgent physical or mental health problem and you are not sure what to do.

• They will ask questions to assess your need
• They will direct you to the most appropriate service
• Depending on the service, they may be able to book you an appointment / arrival time
• They can advise if it is appropriate to manage your symptoms at home and what to do if symptoms get worse.

Advice and care for illnesses and injuries is currently provided by a range of services. Many of these are based in the community rather than in hospitals.

• NHS 111 – provides assessment, advice and direction to the best service for your needs
• Community pharmacies
• GPs, including GP out-of-hours services
• Dental care
  • Community dentists provide some urgent dental care
  • Staffordshire Community Dental Service provides urgent or emergency dental care if you are not registered with a dentist. Both NHS 111 and Staffordshire Dental Advice Line on 0300 123 0981 can advise on urgent and emergency dental care.
• Eye care
  • Many opticians provide urgent appointments through the Community Urgent Eyecare Service. You can check this webpage to see if your local optician offers this service: https://primaryeyecare.co.uk/find-a-practice/ (See also the FAQ about urgent and emergency eyecare).
• Mental health: for urgent mental health support, contact our helplines, day or night:
  • If you live in north Staffordshire: 0800 032 8728
  • If you live in south Staffordshire: 0808 196 3002.
• Minor injuries units (MIUs) and walk-in centres (WICs)
  • Haywood Hospital WIC, Stoke-on-Trent, Mon–Sun, 7am–9.30pm
  • Leek Moorlands Community Hospital MIU, Mon–Sun, 9am–5pm
  • County Hospital Children’s MIU, Stafford, Mon–Sun, 8am–10pm
  • Samuel Johnson Community Hospital MIU, Mon–Sun, 8am–9pm
  • Sir Robert Peel Hospital MIU, Mon–Sun, 8am–9pm
  • Cannock Chase Hospital MIU (temporarily closed).

Pharmacists are experts in minor illnesses. They can advise on over-the-counter medicines and managing your symptoms. Almost all pharmacies have consultation rooms where you can speak to the pharmacist in private.

Pharmacy services have been expanding. Through Pharmacy First, you can now get treatment for seven common conditions directly from a local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. 95% of pharmacies in England have signed up to this. To find out more about this and other pharmacy services, visit this NHS webpage on how pharmacies can help.

There is an eye emergency service at Royal Stoke University Hospital, which is open daily. Patients need to book an appointment by calling 01782 674300

Urgent and emergency eye conditions are seen at the Wolverhampton and Midlands Counties Eye Infirmary, 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday and 8am–4pm at weekends. For information about getting help for less serious eye conditions, visit the website: royalwolverhampton.nhs.uk/our-services/urgent-and-out-of-hours-care.html

For urgent eye conditions, many opticians provide urgent appointments through the Community Urgent Eyecare Service. You can check online at primaryeyecare.co.uk/find-a-practice/ to see if your local optician offers this service.

Emergency healthcare is given in emergency departments (EDs) at three hospitals in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. EDs are also known as A&E departments or casualty.

Royal Stoke University Hospital ED

• Open 24 hours a day, every day
• Treats patients of all ages with emergency health conditions and severe injuries
• Has a dedicated major trauma centre.

Queen’s Hospital ED, Burton

• Open 24 hours a day, every day
• A full ED treating patients of all ages, although some patients with the most serious conditions may be transferred or taken straight to Royal Derby Hospital.

County Hospital ED, Stafford

• Open 8am–10pm
• A smaller ED that does not offer all the treatment that can be given at the larger EDs
• Treats adult patients only. The hospital has a children’s minor injuries unit, but children with more serious illnesses or injuries would go to another ED.

• Rising demand: the number of people going to emergency departments (EDs) has risen greatly over recent years. This is making them very busy, with long waiting times – especially if you visit an ED with a more minor injury or condition.
• Not being sure where to go for urgent care: often, patients going to EDs with minor conditions or injuries could be seen more quickly by other services, but people may not be aware of the options, or how NHS 111 can help.
• Staffing shortages: EDs are feeling the pressure with fewer staff available. This is due to reasons like retirements, not enough new trainees, and the high stress of the work.
• An ageing population: many people who visit EDs are over 65 years old, and as this age group expands, the demand on EDs rises. We can help by providing more support and preventative care earlier on.
• We are investing in services, and we must ensure we provide value for money. We must make the best use of the available budget to meet our local patients’ needs.

• We must make changes that help people get treatment from the right service as quickly as possible. This will help to reduce waiting times, especially in emergency departments.
• Patients don’t always have a positive experience of healthcare if they don’t go to the most appropriate service for advice or treatment first.
• Our current UEC services are complex. We need to make our services simplified and consistent, so it is clearer where, when and how to access urgent healthcare.
• We need to recruit more staff, but also support and keep our experienced UEC workforce.
• We must meet the needs of an ageing population. Our services should work together to support older people’s health and wellbeing. This will help us reduce avoidable emergency admissions for older people.
• There are changes taking place across healthcare that affect how people can access urgent treatment outside hospital. There are national plans to make it easier to get GP appointments, and pharmacy services are expanding.
• We need to make sure that, within our available budget, we offer the best care to patients, improving health outcomes and people’s experience of using UEC services.
• We need to meet the national requirement to set up urgent treatment centres (UTCs).

We want to make sure you receive help and treatment in the place that best meets your needs and will give you the best outcomes.

We will do this through:

Supporting you to look after your health: we’ll share guidance about situations where it’s sensible to look after yourself and manage your symptoms at home, and when and where to seek help if your condition changes. 

Care closer to home: a lot of urgent care can be safely delivered outside of hospital. The services include GPs, pharmacists, urgent eye and dental care services, and mental health teams. We want you to know more about these services and be able to access them easily.  

Supporting you to use NHS 111: contact NHS 111 online, by phone or by using the NHS app. 

Services that are consistent, offer treatment quickly, and are easier to understand: our new urgent treatment centres (UTCs) will be open for a minimum of 12 hours a day and provide the same services. This will help you feel confident about what urgent care you can access and when.  

Urgent and emergency care are part of a bigger healthcare picture: we want our services to work together to provide good healthcare as soon as possible when you need it. This will reduce the need for emergency care and help take pressure off emergency services. Most importantly, it will be better for everyone’s health and wellbeing. 

Firstly, by having urgent care services that are easier to understand and offer a consistent set of services, so it is easier for everyone to access the right service for their needs and get treatment more quickly. Setting up urgent treatment centres (UTCs) will help us achieve this (see our FAQs on UTCs).

Through our communications, we will share important messages around:

• how NHS 111 helps people reach the service that best meets their needs
• the range of urgent care services that are available, for example the growing range of services offered at pharmacies
• situations where it is sensible to look after yourself and manage your symptoms at home.

Many urgent (rather than emergency) healthcare needs are already met outside of hospital by primary care services, such as GPs, pharmacists, dentists, opticians and mental health teams. NHS 111 provides guidance on the best service for urgent care needs, and can book pharmacy consultations and appointments with out-of-hours GPs.

There are national plans to increase staffing in GP practices, and to make it easier to contact GPs and book appointments. To find out more, visit this NHS webpage on improving access to primary care.

Pharmacy services have also been expanding. Now, through Pharmacy First, people can get treatment for seven common conditions directly from a local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. 95% of pharmacies in England have signed up to this. To find out more about this and other pharmacy services, visit this NHS webpage on how pharmacies can help.

Nationally and locally, we have a shortage of specialist clinicians and staff in urgent and emergency care (UEC) – this is one of the reasons emergency departments (EDs) are so busy. There are national plans to increase the UEC workforce. You can find out more about these plans by visiting this NHS page on recovering urgent and emergency care services.

We are keen for the public and patients to be involved as we work to develop our local urgent and emergency care services. You can:

• complete our online survey or easy read survey – you can access these from our involvement page
• come to a meeting – we will be holding meetings you can book onto across the whole of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, as well as more informal meetings with community groups. We’ll also be visiting our urgent and emergency care sites to chat to anyone who is there on the day.

Please visit our involvement page for information.

Urgent treatment centres provide urgent medical help when it’s not a life-threatening emergency. Our local UTCs will:

• be open at least 12 hours a day, 365 days a year
• see people of all ages
• treat minor injuries and minor illnesses
• carry out a range of investigative tests, including X-rays.

Urgent treatment centres treat minor illnesses and injuries, including:

• sprains and strains
• possible broken bones
• abdominal (tummy) pain
• minor head and eye injuries
• minor burns and scalds
• cuts that need stitches
• ear and throat infections
• skin infections and rashes.

Urgent treatment centres are staffed by doctors, nurses and other qualified healthcare staff with skills in urgent healthcare.

Urgent treatment centres (UTCs) are being introduced across England as part of a national plan for more consistent urgent care services.

By improving access to urgent treatment, UTCs should help relieve pressure on emergency departments.

Locally, creating UTCs is a vital part of our plans to make sure you get to the right place, first time, for urgent healthcare, and have a better experience of using urgent and emergency healthcare services.

Urgent treatment centres (UTCs) offer similar services to minor injuries units (MIUs) and walk-in centres (WICs). However, they are consistent in what they offer, so patients can be confident about what to expect there.

For example, UTCs in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent would:

• be open at least 12 hours a day every day
• always offer booked arrival times, via NHS 111
• see patients of all ages (our Stafford MIU is for children only)
• treat minor illnesses and minor injuries (our Stafford MIU treats children’s injuries only)
• be able to access up-to-date electronic patient records
• offer more X-ray services, with X-ray available during the full opening times and a wider range of X-rays than at some current units.

If you go to a UTC with a minor illness or injury, you should have a shorter wait than you could currently expect at an emergency department, because:

• you will not be in the same queue as emergency patients
• you will be able to book an arrival time through NHS 111, reducing waiting times.

No final decisions have been made about where UTCs will open in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. They are likely to open at different dates, depending on the work needed to get them up and running.

We must also be sure that any potential changes to services are clinically and financially sustainable, so the best use is made of available budgets.

You can find out more by reading our information document, which you can download from this webpage: https://staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk/uec-get-involved

UTCs need to meet a set of standards. This to make sure they can be run safely and effectively.

We have been looking in detail at:

• what demand has been like at our current urgent care units (for example, the number of patients visiting and what kind of needs they had)
• our existing buildings and facilities (for example, accessibility and layout), to see whether they would meet the national standards for UTCs
• our existing services and whether they meet UTC standards
• if we would need to recruit and train more staff.

After carrying out this work we have made proposals about where our local UTCs could be located. You can read the proposals in our information document, which you can download from this webpage: https://staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk/uec-get-involved

Please note, no final decisions have yet been made.