Enter and view: West Lancashire Urgent Treatment Centre, Ormskirk
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Healthwatch Lancashire undertook an announced enter and view visit to West Lancashire Urgent Treatment Centre, Ormskirk on 20 June 2025. They spoke to 19 people.
As well as making the decision to attend the walk-in centre, Ormskirk Urgent treatment centre accepts any person who attends and books into the service. There are no exclusions, patients may be signposted or referred to other services or stabilised and transferred to Accident and Emergency Department if significantly unwell.
Patients are also able to book appointments by calling 111. They also provide a Clinical advice Service (CAS) and patients will get a call back if they are referred by 111 and the centre can then book them into an appointment at the UTC, treat over the phone or refer them to other services as needed.
They also have a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) pathway and patients can be referred by their GP or just walk into the service and be assessed and treated as required.
On entry into the Urgent Treatment Centre, it was well signposted and clear for patients where to go. There is a large waiting area with ample seating for patients and enough room for wheelchair and pram access. Patients were observed checking in at reception and being seen by triage quickly then waiting back in the main area. Patients were observed to be seen quickly and leaving the centre in under 40 minutes when Healthwatch first arrived.
On the day of the visit there were eight staff in total working including two admin staff, one receptionist and five clinicians including nurses and a paramedic.
Overall patient feedback was positive with comments around how quickly they were seen, the kindness of staff and the size of the waiting room with different seating to access. Concerns raised by patients centred around not knowing how long the wait was going to be, why patients were being seen before other patients and at times when its busy not being able to hear their name being called.
Overall staff feedback was positive with them mentioning the training they receive, the team they work with and what they provide within the centre. Concerns raised were around knowledge of the UTC and why patients are being sent here, the triage away system, agency staff and staff support at busier times.
At the time of the visit staff were observed to be kind and courteous towards patients and saw them in time of their urgency. Patients were commenting on how staff were thorough and how they didn’t have to wait long for their triage when they arrived. There were only two patients in the waiting area when Healthwatch arrived and this quickly grew with multiple patients waiting in the middle of our visit.