Hospital Attendances

 

BACK TO MAIN INDEX

 

Minehead Urgent Treatment Centre

Urgent Treatment Centres run across the county in many of your local community hospitals. There are Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC) at Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Chard, Bridgwater, and Minehead. They are all run by Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENPs) with Staff Nurses and Health Care Assistants in support.

Urgent Treatment Centres provide urgent care to patients closer to where they live.  They keep our emergency departments free to manage critically ill patients and those with life-threatening major injuries.

Urgent Treatment Centre staff diagnose and treat a wide range of non-life threatening minor illnesses and injuries including:

  • sprains and strains
  • broken bones
  • cuts and wounds
  • bites
  • minor head injuries

If you are not sure which service you need please use the free NHS 111 telephone advice line.  For life threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, unconsciousness and breathing problems call 999 or visit Accident and Emergency, please do not attend an Urgent Treatment Centre.

 

Hospital Appointments

Following consultation with your GP, it may be necessary for you to be referred to a specialist via a hospital appointment. The Choose and Book service will mean that you may have a choice of where and when it suits you to be treated, dependent of course on who you need to see.

Your GP, or one of the practice team, will take you through the options available to you and supply you with all the necessary information, should the need arise.

Once your referral has been made under the Choose and Book system, you will then be contacted by the Somerset referral booking service team who will outline the available options with you.  They will then assist with making an appointment at your chosen place of treatment, at a time that you are able to attend.

 

Hospital Transport

The hospital transport service is restricted to patients who have no alternative means of transport and who are receiving certain services or treatments that mean they qualify as having a medical need.

For initial referrals, contact the NHS Patient Transport Advice Centre on 01278 727444, weekdays between 8.30am and 6.30pm. For follow-up appointments, pre-admission checks and operations, contact the appropriate hospital department who will pass the details on to the hospital transport officer.