Plans are in place to transform how we provide urgent care in Newcastle, through building a new urgent treatment centre at the RVI.
The centre will be next to the existing accident and emergency department, with construction expected to start early 2025, subject to relevant approvals and planning permissions.
Why we need a new centre
Year on year, an increasing number of people attend our emergency department.
While many of these patients do not have a life-threatening emergency, they do need to be cared for urgently.
The current layout and space in the department do not allow a separate space for urgent care, or the improvements needed to provide better facilities.
The new centre will provide a dedicated space, open 24/7, which will provide urgent assessment and treatment away from major emergencies.
Through creating a modern and accessible facility, we will be able offer a wide range of services for non-life-threatening healthcare, minor illness and injuries.
Having an urgent treatment centre in the same place as the emergency department is also convenient for patients, allows for more flexible and sustainable staffing and provides fast access to additional services in the main hospital if needed.
Access to existing emergency services at the RVI will not be disrupted during the development and the RVI minor injuries unit will continue to operate as normal, although these services will transfer into the new centre once it is open.
Our urgent treatment centres at Ponteland Road in Cowgate and Molineux Street in Byker will continue to operate seven days a week as normal.
Services previously provided from the Westgate urgent treatment centre have been closed since November 2022. The current plan is for services previously provided at Westgate to be re-provided at the new RVI urgent treatment centre.
The full planning application for the new urgent treatment centre is available on Newcastle City Council’s planning portal.
