Enter and view: Skelmersdale NHS Walk-In Centre

Healthwatch Lancashire undertook an announced enter and view visit to Skelmersdale Walk-in Centre on 17 June 2025.  They spoke to 12 people.

The centre is mainly used by residents of the Skelmersdale area, however it was explained that residents of West Lancashire also make use of this service. A discussion with the Centre Manager highlighted that patients would sometimes attend the centre before making the journey to the local accident and emergency at Ormskirk Hospital as it can be more convenient for them to attend the walk-in and then be transferred to other services if required.

Patients can self-refer to the service and attend the walk-in centre or they can be referred by the 111 service or their GP. Some community based appointments, such as podiatry and cardiac nursing, are also available at the centre which are delivered by the HCRG group. Patients can attend pre-booked appointments at the centre for these services.

Patients gave a mixed response in terms of their experiences of waiting times both historically and at the time of the visit. Some comments concerned information that was provided when they were being referred by the 111 phone line where their expectations had been unintentionally raised by 111 staff being unaware of the real time status of waiting times at the centre. 

Patients felt that the service being located in the Concourse shopping centre was a real positive because it meant that care was directly accessible in the local area and meant that, in most cases, they would not need to make the journey to Ormskirk or Southport to be seen by clinicians. S

taff felt that their experiences working at the centre were positive, although some concerns were raised about the staffing levels during busier periods. There was feedback provided by members of staff about the triage process being a strength at the centre as it meant patients were seen quickly and were allocated to the right clinician for their treatment needs.