The urgent care centre at Chase Farm Hospital is set to extend its opening hours.
Enfield’s clinical commissioning group today announced that the care centre, which deals with urgent but non-life threatening injuries, will be opened from 8am until 10pm seven days a week from late December.
The centre, on The Ridgeway, in Enfield, opened in October 2013 to ease the pressures on Barnet and North Middlesex Hospital’s accident and emergency units following the closure of Chase Farm Hospital’s casualty department in December last year.
Previously open for 12 hours a day, the centre will now be open for 14 hours with this arrangement in place until a review of urgent care services across Enfield is carried out in summer 2015.
Clinical commissioning group chairman Dr Mo Abedi said: “Our Choose Well campaign signposts patients to the most appropriate service for their needs. We have made this decision to ensure that Enfield residents continue to receive the right care at the right time and in the right place”.
Enfield North MP Nick de Bois and Enfield Southgate MP David Burrowes had campaigned for the increase in hours at Chase Farms care centre.
Prime Minister David Cameron mentioned the centre at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions.
He said: “I am happy to say that Enfield CCG has announced an extension to the opening hours of the Chase Farm urgent care centre.
“I can confirm that the government has set aside £230million for the redevelopment of the Chase Farm site so that is very good news.”
Mr Burrowes said: "I am pleased that for the first time Chase Farm has more services with extended urgent care alongside increased urgent care at North Middlesex Hospital.
"The announced review has on the table a further increase in urgent care hours and I will continue to campaign for 24-hour urgent care.
"After years of empty promises, at last Chase Farm has investment and a long-term future."
Mr de Bois added: “I welcome this decision to extend the hours at the urgent care cente which follows extensive meetings with CCG, NHS London and the secretary of state.
“Whilst I will never give up the fight for a return of our A&E, it’s important in the meantime to try and get the best possible deal for residents including better out of hours access to urgent care.
“I will continue to campaign for even longer opening hours as part of the very welcome £260million investment to rebuild Chase Farm Hospital.”
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