'Instead of going to A&E, they could come here'

It is a rainy and pretty miserable afternoon when I arrive at the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Woking Community Hospital, but the staff and patients seem to be in good spirits.

Standing in the entrance, I watch as a woman wheels a young girl with a hurt foot inside, and out of the wet weather.

Later I speak to Jen from Guildford, who says her 11-year-old daughter was injured after falling over at school during PE and they were advised to "get it checked".

"We know we mustn't go near [accident and emergency]," she said. "We need to save that for the properly, really sick people. So it's good to know that this is available too."

NHS staff have a similar message for patients.

Last week two hospital trusts in Surrey declared critical incidents due to "significant ongoing pressure" on services, including the number of people going to A&E and problems with discharging patients.

Emergency nurse practitioner at the UTC, Debbie Chamberlain, says they can see "any patient that comes through the door" and people do not need an appointment.

"They all come in with different diagnoses from minor ailments [to] minor injuries," she said.

"Quite a few patients" came in with chest pains, or having cardiac events, she said, and would be transferred to A&E.

"But the vast majority are patients that could be seen in their GP surgery, and maybe they can't get appointments," Chamberlain added.

"So instead of going to A&E, they could come here, because there's a vast range of things that we can deal with."

In the waiting room, Hazel from Woking has come to be checked out for an infection.

She last used the UTC "quite a few years ago" and said it was good to know the service was there.

"Although I know [the NHS] is on its knees at the moment," she added.

Woking Community Hospital is run by CSH Surrey, a social enterprise which provides a range of services in North West Surrey on behalf of the NHS.

Chief executive officer, Renée Padfield, describes community providers as "one of the bedrocks" of the health service.

"We support patients at home, we're really embedded in our local communities and we work really closely with our primary care colleagues in general practice," she said.

While it may feel natural to go to the nearest hospital when feeling unwell, she said A&E departments across Surrey were facing "real pressures".

"So people might go there but they'll have quite long waits," she added.

"If you come here to us at Woking Community Hospital, your wait is likely to be shorter."

Also on the hospital site is a Community Diagnostic Centre, including MRI and CT scanning, which opened last year and is run by Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

There are also other UTCs and nurse-led minor injury units across Surrey, including in Ashford, Caterham and Haslemere.

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