Emergency Closure for Hammersmith Hospital Urgent Care Centre
Patients directed to Charing Cross during temporary shutdown
Hammersmith & Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group has announced it has taken 'the difficult decision' to temporarily close the Hammersmith Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre with immediate effect, from 8am on Friday, 20 March.
The CCG says on its website: " As part of our management of the covid-19 emergency, we are introducing front door screening and appropriate segregation of patients at the urgent care centre at Charing Cross Hospital.
" Patients with confirmed or potential covid-19 infection will be separated from patients who are there for other reasons.
" The urgent treatment centre at Hammersmith Hospital has neither the space nor the clinical capacity to segregate patients at the front door in this way.
"Charing Cross also has an emergency department in case a patient is taken seriously ill."
The CCG says that signs will be place on the door of the Hammersmith UTC, on Du Cane Road in White City, the 111 service will be informed that the centre is not currently available and patients will be directed to Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham Palace Road.
There is a telephone located on the outside wall of Hammersmith Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre that links directly to 111 or 999 in case of emergencies.
The CCG adds: " This is an unavoidable decision, taken as an emergency measure to help us deal with the developing major incident around covid-19. We plan to return to business as usual once the emergency is over."
March 19, 2020