Visitors to Spalding’s urgent treatment centre rose by more than a third last year

Visitors to Spalding’s urgent treatment centre rose by a staggering 34% last year.

The number of patients attending the centre - which provides non-life-threatening medical help in a bid to ease pressures on A&E departments - has more than doubled since it opened in 2018, figures reveal.

Health bosses say growing demand shows the service is ‘valued’ by residents.

Data shows a total of 27,140 patients visited the Spalding UTC, based at the Johnson Hospital, in 2023, up from 20,227 in 2022.

“The population in Lincolnshire is increasing, as well as having a high transient population, which impacts the number of patients seen across the UTCs,” explained a report on behalf of the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board to a recent Lincolnshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee meeting.

A total of 13,187 patients visited Spalding’s UTC in 2018, rising to 14,333 in 2019.

The Covid pandemic of 2020 saw number drop to 2,911 before leaping to 11,684 in 2021 as restrictions were lifted.

This number almost doubled to 20,227 in 2022, with last year’s number of attendees rising again by more than a third to 27,140.

The rise in visitors between 2022 and 2023 is the second highest in the county behind Gainsborough, which saw an increase of 42%.

There has been a rise in UTC visitors to all centres in the county since 2018, with the exception of Skegness which has seen a decline.

Boston and Lincoln saw small dips in the number of visitors between 2022 and 2023, while Spalding, Gainsborough and Louth have all seen year-on-year rises post pandemic.

In 2017 the NHS set the ambition for the rollout of standardised UTCs across England.

“The aim at that time was to reduce the confusing mix of urgent care services including walk in centres, minor injury and illness units and urgent care centres,” the report added.

“In October 2023, a refresh of the principles and standards set out the vision NHS England are expecting Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to implement.

“The standards aim to provide a consistent urgent treatment offer to the public to reduce attendance at emergency departments (EDs) and to improve patient access, experience, and care nationally.

“The standards apply to both standalone and co-located UTCs. Wherever they are located UTCs should be able to treat patients of all ages with minor ailments and injury and with senior clinical leadership, in line with these standards.

Number of visitors in 2023 by UTC: Boston 27,636 (-0.5% from 2022); Lincoln 40,435 (-8%); Spalding 27,140 (+34%); Gainsborough 20,026 (+42%); Skegness 25,335 (-5%); Louth 26,143 (+14%).

The report suggests the county’s transient population - commuters, students, tourists and travelling traders etc - plays a significant role in visitors to Skegness and Gainsborough rising significantly through the summer.

Last year Spalding’s transient population was registered as 6.4% of its population (1,639 people) with the highest being Skegness (26.25%, 6,650).

The top diagnosis across all the county’s UTC’s was tonsillitis, with upper respiratory tract infection second, lower respiratory tract infection third and a sprained ankle fourth.

UTCs - staffed by highly skilled nurses with support from medics - are open to patients walking in off the street, but also those referred by NHS 111 or the Lincolnshire Clinical Assessment Service (CAS).

A total of 3,506 patients (12.91%) to Spalding’s UTC were referrals last year, with 87 being ambulance conveyances.

Figures show that 6,220 of Spalding’s 2023 patients were registered at the Beechfield Medical Practice, 4,894 at Munro Medical Centre and 1,943 at the Deepings Practice.

“The review has highlighted the importance of urgent treatment centres in the architecture of urgent care across Lincolnshire particularly given the rurality of the county,” the report added.

“Patient experience demonstrates that local access is valued, and this is demonstrated by the attendance figures and growing demand seen within all the UTCs apart from Skegness which has seen a decline compared to before Covid.”

Excluded from the review were Grantham UTC, due to the recent transition of that service from an Emergency Department, and Stamford Minor Injury Unit, plus venues at Horncastle and Sleaford, which are not designated UTCs.

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