Urgent treatment centres in Buxton, Ilkeston, Matlock and Ripley will have their walk-in availability restricted
Ilkeston Community Hospital hosts the urgent treament centre in the town(Image: Derby Telegraph)
Increased demand has led to four Derbyshire NHS clinics being restricted to “appointment only” for several hours a day, in a move dubbed “disappointing and sad” by an MP.
Opening hours at four urgent treatment centres in Buxton, Ilkeston, Matlock and Ripley are to remain the same at 8am to 8pm but walk-ins will now be restricted for the tail end of each day, with appointments required.
At Buxton’s urgent treatment centre, at Buxton Hospital, appointments will be required from 4pm until 8pm.
The urgent treatment centres at Ilkeston Hospital, Whitworth Hospital in Matlock and Ripley Hospital will be limited to appointment-only from 5pm to 8pm.
Appointments during restricted hours will only be available via NHS 111 online or by phone.
Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust says the changes are “temporary” and are to cope with “increasing demand” and stop services being overwhelmed by unexpected walk-ins.
Ilkeston’s urgent treatment centre was closed for three weeks up until late June 2024. It was then limited to appointment only and on reduced operating hours of 10am to 6pm for seven months, up until March 2025, due to staffing shortages and sickness absence.
That had also been accompanied by 13 closures at Ripley, four at Whitworth and two in Buxton in June 2024 for “safety reasons”.
Erewash MP Adam Thompson, responding to the restrictions, said: “I am very disappointed to have been informed that the hours at the Urgent Treatment Centre in Ilkeston have been cut.
“Derbyshire Community Health Services say that these are temporary restrictions, required to continue providing safe, effective and compassionate care in the face of rising numbers of patients with increasingly complex medical needs.
“After years of hard work and campaigning by many people in Ilkeston, the Urgent Treatment Centre re-opened for walk-ins in March 2025, after having been appointment-only for some time. It’s very sad that walk-ins are now being limited again.
“It’s especially disappointing that these restrictions come at a time when the Government has been working to bring healthcare closer to where people live, rather than making it harder to access. This has included major investments in Ilkeston Hospital.
“This is not only happening in Ilkeston. Walk-in opening times have also been cut at Ripley, which I know people locally are sometimes also sent to, as well as at Buxton and Whitworth Hospital in Matlock.
“I will be seeking a meeting with the Derbyshire Integrated Care Board and have a number of very serious questions to ask. I strongly hope that the urgent treatment centre can be brought back up to full capacity sooner rather than later.”
The NHS trust refers to the reduction in walk-in hours as a “small change” on its website, starting from Monday, August 24
In its August trust board report, it says the treatment centres remained under pressure due to “capacity constraints” caused by “high demand and high acuity” (more severe illness or ailment), with an “ongoing reliance on temporary staffing” and “frequent walk-in restrictions”.
A spokesperson said: “For some time now the recommended first step for anyone seeking urgent medical help is to contact NHS 111 so they can be assessed for their symptoms and directed swiftly to the right place for treatment; sometimes that is an urgent treatment centre where they are offered an appointment.
“We’d always recommend contacting NHS 111 first over turning up so we can ensure people get the right care in the right place and we are prepared for them.
“The walk-in option is still available to people for most of the day but we’re open to appointments only during the evening to ensure we can treat everyone effectively during our opening hours.
“There is no change in our overall opening times or capacity but we need to manage patients safely and ensure our clinical teams are not overwhelmed by unexpected arrivals during the evening up to 8pm.
“Our clinical teams are always ready to respond in an emergency and signage on our doors explicitly lists the symptoms, including chest pain and severe breathing difficulties, which we should be alerted to at any time during our opening hours so that we can respond immediately.
“We have a duty to our patients and staff in the urgent treatment centres to ensure the care received and given is optimal and this small operational adjustment in the way we receive patients in the evenings is part and parcel of looking after everyone involved.
“This is not a permanent change, rather an interim approach to ensure continued and safe care for local communities.”