Members of the public across Solihull who want to find out more about the progress of Solihull Hospital Urgent Care Centre are invited to come along to one of three public information events in Touchwood this summer.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT), which runs Solihull Hospital, and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are working together to provide a new Urgent Care Centre at Solihull Hospital by the end of 2016. This will see all the urgent care services which are currently available, the Minor Injuries Unit at Solihull Hospital, a walk-in centre, out of hours and other urgent care services, being located together, under one roof, through one front door, making the service more integrated and efficient.

Work is well underway behind the scenes to bring this project to reality. Both HEFT and Solihull CCG are committed to keep the public informed of its plans for the Urgent Care Centre. They are hosting three public information events at Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull over the summer. Representatives from the CCG and HEFT will be on hand to answer any questions. The three events will be held on the following dates:

• Friday, 3 July:              10am – 4pm, Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull
• Thursday, 23 July:       10am – 4pm, Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull
• Thursday, 27 August:  10am – 4pm, Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull

Dr Patrick Brooke, Accountable Officer for Solihull CCG, said: “We consulted with the public about the Urgent Care Centre last year and were very pleased with the valuable feedback which helped us shape our proposals for urgent care services in Solihull. There will be no reduction in the current urgent care services available, but by bringing them all together in one place within the hospital it will be simpler for patients to access.

“We are committed to keeping the public informed and involved. We look forward to meeting people at our information stand in Touchwood this summer where we can update them about progress, show them the plan of where the new centre is going to be located and answer any questions.”

So far, part of the change includes amending the internal signage at Solihull Hospital to reflect the services available as a Minor Injuries Unit rather than a full A&E. To make sure that the travelling public are also properly informed, there will be changes to the road signs in and around the area and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council will be carrying out the work.

The changes have been made to properly reflect the nature of services offered at the hospital as agreed by the Solihull Health and Wellbeing Board, as well as being agreed as part of the wider public consultation regarding the Urgent Care Centre. Solihull Hospital has not offered full A&E services for many years, but instead runs a very successful Minor Injuries Unit.

Professor Matthew Cooke, Director of Strategy & Deputy Medical Director at HEFT, said: “The new external road signs will comply with guidelines from the Department of Transport and the Department of Health, as well as matching signage used to advertise other Minor Injuries Units in the region.

“Changes to the signage do not mean any changes to the services offered at Solihull Hospital, they merely reflect the service that has been offered for a number of years. Once the Urgent Care Centre procurement is underway we will review the situation to reflect the new service.”