Minor injuries service in Market Harborough gets extended hours

The minor injuries service at St Luke's in Market Harborough is now open for longer.
St Luke's in Market HarboroughSt Luke's in Market Harborough
St Luke's in Market Harborough

NHS East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG (ELR CCG) has announced that minor injury services are now open longer on weekdays in three locations across East Leicestershire and

Rutland including in Market Harborough.

New contracts with local GP practices in Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Market Harborough which came into effect on June 1 mean these important local services are now open for an extra hour and a half every weekday.

People with minor injuries can use the services during the daytime between 8.30am and 6.30pm and do not have to be registered with a local GP to do so. No appointment is needed and people can walk-in for treatment.

The services run from St Luke’s Treatment Centre in Market Harborough, plus Latham House Medical Practice in Melton Mowbray, and Rutland Memorial Hospital in Oakham, and are for minor injuries only. People should contact their own GP practice in the first instance if they need care for minor illnesses when practices are open.

The change to the weekday daytime minor injury service, complements the local urgent care service available in the evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays at six locations across East

Leicestershire and Rutland and means people will have improved access to care closer to home throughout the day and when GP practices are closed.

ELR CCG’s chief operating officer Tim Sacks said: “Local people have told us that having services closer to home is really important to them. We’ve listened and over the last year have

been developing and extending access to local minor injury and urgent care services in a number of locations across our area.

“In this latest development, we’re pleased to announce the extension of opening hours for minor injury services in Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Market Harborough. These services are now open until the point that the evening and weekend urgent care service takes over (between 6.30pm and 9pm). Both services are accessible to all, regardless of which GP practice people are registered with.”

Urgent care services

Urgent care services are available to people with injuries and illnesses that require immediate attention, but are not life-threatening between 6.30pm and 9pm on weekdays and between 9am and 7pm at weekends and Bank Holidays in multiple locations across East Leicestershire and Rutland. There is also a service in Oadby which opens from 8am to 9pm on weekdays and from 8am to 8pm at weekends and Bank Holidays. These services, which are provided by DHU Health Care, are open to everyone and can be accessed in three ways:

- By calling NHS111 - your needs will be assessed and if required, an appointment will be made for you at the nearest centre with availability.

- Via your GP practice (East Leicestershire and Rutland GPs only) – if you are registered with an East Leicestershire and Rutland GP practice, they can make an evening or weekend appointment for you at a nearby centre

- Walk in - you can walk in without an appointment and your needs will be assessed. If you need to be seen, you will be allocated the next available slot at the centre. At busy times,

this may mean you are seen later in the day or at another centre. Alternatively, you may be referred to a different service, a pharmacy for example, if your needs could be treated

there. If you are reliant on public transport or have a long distance to travel, you are advised to call NHS 111 in the first instance. This will ensure you are assessed and referred to a service appropriate for your needs, and that an appointment can be made for you if required.

Tim added: “We will now be working with our GP practices, service providers, local businesses and communities to help raise awareness of the ways in which people can access minor injury and urgent care services locally.

“We are also continuing to listen and act on people’s feedback about these services. Understanding people’s experiences is really important to us and helps us to work with providers

to ensure our minor injury and urgent care services are meeting people’s needs. People can share their experience with us by email at: [email protected] or call us on 0116 295 7572 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.”

If people are unsure about where to go for help, they should contact NHS 111 who will be able to assess their needs and refer them to an appropriate service, making them an appointment where possible.