Newark and Sherwood District Council councillor Rowan Cozens said that Newark Ugent Treatment Centre is still a very big issue

Residents are struggling to get the urgent care they need — with patients forced to travel more than 20 miles in an emergency.

At Newark and Sherwood District Council’s cabinet meeting this week, Rowan Cozens shared her views on what is lacking when it comes to health and wellbeing for people in the district.

A health and wellbeing strategy for 2022-26 drew praise, but Mrs Cozens warned that there are still issues with emergency care in Newark.

She said: “I think it is the elephant in the room still.

“I know that all we can do is influence but I think that probably, if you spoke to residents, a very big issue is the access to emergency care.”

The Urgent Treatment Centre in Newark used to operate overnight. That service was cut in 2020 as a temporary measure in response to staffing issues and then it never returned.

Newark residents have been appealing for an overnight service since but, in March this year, the Nottinghamshire ICB ruled that the centre should not reopen overnight, citing low patient numbers and continued staffing problems.

Opening hours were extended, but only by an additional hour and a half, meaning urgent treatment can only be accessed from 8am to 10.30pm.

The decision left many residents disappointed and frustrated — and currently those who need medical assistance overnight need to either wait for an ambulance or find a way to make the long journey to King’s Mill in Sutton-in-Ashfield or one of the Nottingham hospitals.

“It is a massive issue. For anyone with elderly relatives who need to make that trip out is very onerous.

“It is really not good enough that we have to travel 21 or 23 miles in distress.

“And I do wonder if you haven’t got a supportive family how do you manage that? Because accidents never happen at convenient times so for me it is still a very big issue.”

The Urgent Treatment Centre at Newark Hospital, run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, provides urgent care and non-life-threatening treatment for injuries or conditions, such as cuts, simple broken bones, wounds, minor burns and minor head, eye and back injuries.

In July this year, Newark and Sherwood District Council passed a motion seeking calling on the Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board to reinstate NHS urgent medical care and urgent treatment, 24 hours a day at Newark Hospital. Those calls have not been listened to.

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