Have Your Say: Urgent Treatment Centres and GP Out of Hours Consultation

NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) would like your opinion on some changes that will be made regarding Urgent Treatment Centres and services that people access when their GP surgery is closed.

Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC) help with non-life-threatening conditions, such as, sprains, suspected broken bones, rashes and infections.

Currently, there are 5 Urgent Treatment Centres in Birmingham and 1 in Solihull.

• Solihull Urgent Treatment Centre at Solihull Hospital
• Erdington Urgent Treatment Centre at Stockland Green Primary Care Centre
• North Birmingham Urgent Treatment Centre at Good Hope Hospital
• South Birmingham GP Urgent Treatment Centre, Katie Road
• Summerfield Urgent Treatment Centre at Summerfield Primary Care Centre
• Washwood Heath Urgent Treatment Centre

Why is the NHS reviewing Urgent Treatment Centres and GP out-of-hours services?

People have expressed that when they need urgent but non-life-threatening care, it can be confusing to know where to go and how to access services. Not all Urgent Treatment Centres have all the same services:

At the moment:

• Opening hours vary between UTCs
• Some centres accept walk-in patients, while others require appointments booked through NHS 111
• Not all centres offer the same tests, such as X-rays
• Some centres cannot accept appropriate patients arriving by ambulance
• Some centres are staffed by GPs and nurses, while others do not have GPs on site
• This means patient experience can differ depending on location.

As a result, some people go to A&E when it is not an emergency and they could be treated elsewhere. This adds pressure to A&E departments and increases waiting times, including for people who need emergency care most.

The aim is to make urgent care simpler, more consistent and easier to access, so people can get the right help, in the right place, at the right time.

This consultation is about how community-based urgent care services and GP out-of-hours services should be organised in the future, alongside the new hospital-based UTCs.

Two options (Option A and Option B) have been developed to improve services and meet national standards. NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB want to understand your views on these different options.

Please read the full public consultation document before completing the survey.

Option A (Some UTCs would close and be replaced by specialist *Urgent Care Services)

• Solihull, Erdington and South Birmingham UTCs would stay where they are and be improved to meet national NHS standards.
• Summerfield and Washwood Heath UTCs would close. In their place, local health hubs on the same sites would provide urgent care that better meets the needs of local people.
• GP out-of-hours services would operate as one service across Birmingham and Solihull offering mainly virtual consultations, as well as face-to-face appointments and home visits when needed.

*Urgent Care Services at local health hubs would provide urgent specialist treatment closer to home and reduce the need for hospital admissions. Access to these specialist urgent care services would normally be by referral from a healthcare professional, such as a GP, NHS 111, or a hospital clinician.  Patients would not be able to walk in without being referred.

Option B (Some UTCs would close and be replaced by Community Urgent Care Centres)

• Solihull UTC would stay where it is and be improved to meet national NHS standards.
• Summerfield, Washwood Heath, and Erdington UTCs would become Community Urgent Care Centres.
• South Birmingham UTC would close. It will be replaced by two new Community Urgent Care Centres – one at Moseley Hall Hospital and one at West Heath Hospital.
• Community Urgent Care Centres will be part of local health hubs providing care that meets the needs of local people.
• GP out-of-hours services would be linked to local health hubs and delivered alongside Community Urgent Care Centres

*Community Urgent Care Centres will offer walk-in care and appointments booked through NHS 111 for non-life-threatening conditions and will be in local health hubs that offer a range of health services. Community Urgent Care Centres would provide a general urgent care service for minor illnesses and minor injuries that are unlikely to require X-rays or stitches.

Further information

You can get this information in different formats or languages,
 • Call 0191 535 5881
 • Email us at nhsbsolicb.utcreview@nhs.net

Find out more about the consultation.

Complete the online survey by Thursday 16 April 2026.