Relocating Bury’s walk-in centre to Fairfield Hospital would cost around half a million pounds – but could save money in the years to come.
Dr Jeff Schryer, chair of Bury clinical commissioning group, confirmed the £500,000 capital investment would be a one-off cost.
This comes as local authorities agreed to start a public consultation on its proposal to change the way patients access urgent care services in a bid to plug a multi-million pound black hole in the health budget.
He said: “If people are broadly happy with the concept, there will have to be some building work at Fairfield because what we want is a suite that can accommodate out-of-hours doctors, the walk-in facility in Bury and some mental health services.”
The walk-in clinic at Moorgate Primary Care Centre would close as services move to the hospital, under the latest proposal.
Out of hours GP appointments, mental health services and treatment for minor accidents would also be based at the hospital’s Urgent Treatment Centre where 24-hour walk-in facilities would be available.
The proposal also includes developing a telephone service for people who have rung 999 or 111 but do not need to go to A&E.
The Clinical Assessment Service will allow people to phone and directly book appointments at their GP practice, pharmacy or the Urgent Treatment Centre, where Bury town centre’s walk-in facilities will be moved to.
Prestwich walk-in centre would stay open under the latest proposal but the facility may be affected further down the line, according to the consultation document.
A public consultation on the proposal will begin on Monday, February 10 and last four weeks.
For more information, visit the Bury CCG website.
