X-Ray opening times extended at Petersfield Hospital's Urgent Treatment Centre
Patients needing an X-Ray at Petersfield Urgent Treatment Centre are now able to access them at weekends, following an extension of opening times.
Now revealed that patients have been attending on weekends since 3 September 2022, the impact is already beginning to show.
The hours have been extended to now include weekend opening hours of 8am until 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
The service is seeing an average of 15 people a day at the weekend with on-the-day urgent needs. Over a month the X-Ray team will see close to 500 people who might otherwise have had to go to an Accident and Emergency department.
Petersfield's Urgent Treatment Centre is one of the fastest ways to have minor injuries seen, diagnosed and treated, seeing around 2,200 people every month, with over 70% of people seen, treated and discharged within 2 hours.
Paul Fisher, UTC service lead at Petersfield Hospital said: “We’re really happy to be able to extend the hours of our X-Ray service to cover weekends.
"This enables us to diagnose and treat so many people from our community who would otherwise have had to spend several hours in A&E. This helps to support our colleagues in the acute hospital by relieving some of the pressure they inevitably face.”
Dr Zaid Hirmiz, local GP and Clinical Director for South East at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, said: “Urgent Treatment Centres are a fantastic resource for our local communities and can help with a wide range of on-the-day urgent needs, from suspected broken limbs to throat infections.
"We are really pleased to be able to announce the extension of the operating hours where X-Ray is available at the amazing facility at Petersfield, working with our dedicated healthcare provider teams. This winter it’s really important for you to choose well to get the right care for you – if you’re not sure where to go, try the 111 online service first for non life threatening issues.”