Last November Kate Shields, chief executive for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, said the Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance was commissioned to operate 24 hours a day, going on to add: “We expect it to return to a 24-hour service.”

You can read more about that here: Health chiefs 'expect return' to 24-hour urgent care at second largest hospital

However, this week members of West Cornwall HealthWatch said they had been left concerned by the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust’s Executive Summary, which was presented to the April meeting of Cornwall Integrated Care Board.

This update, they said, spoke about “significant financial and operational pressures in the NHS” and the cost of providing medical cover.

A HealthWatch group spokesperson said: “Despite the West Cornwall HealthWatch campaign back in the summer to reinstate a 24-hour Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital, the report seemed to suggest that this might not happen, due to the cost of providing medical cover, given ‘significant financial and operational pressures in the NHS’.

“However, members of the public in the West Cornwall Hospital catchment area see 24-hour access as a key priority. They have consistently been told that they should not go to A&E in Truro unless their condition is life-threatening.

“It should be noted, though, that few members of the public can know for certain if and when their life is at risk; neither would many feel able to make at least an hour’s journey late at night to a department where they can expect a wait of many hours.

“More local access is already identified as an important aim in the NHS, and this should be at any hour of the day or night.”

Campaigners want to see a return to 24-hour urgent care at West Cornwall Hospital (Image: NHS Cornwall)

They went on to add: “Whilst there remain concerns about cost and risk, there would be clear benefits to GPs, ambulance service and out-of-hours staff if patients could be seen and mostly treated locally; as well as cost savings when patients are seen more quickly and effectively, avoiding longer-term and more expensive care.”

What the hospital says

A spokesperson for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has now given an update on the current situation regarding 24-hour care at West Cornwall Hospital.

She told the Packet on Tuesday: “The urgent treatment centre at West Cornwall Hospital is an essential part of our urgent care provision for people in the west of the county, as part of a wide range of hospital and community-based services allowing people to access much of the care they need at, or close to, home.

“We continue to explore options for 24-hour opening of the urgent treatment centre at West Cornwall Hospital and are working these through with stakeholders and local people, including representatives from West Cornwall HealthWatch.

“As some of the options being considered may affect the roles and working practice of individuals we must, quite rightly, engage with them first before sharing those options more widely.”

Current opening hours

West Cornwall Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre is currently open from 8am until midnight seven days a week.

RCHT says it currently sees around 60 people each day.

Discussions on options for resuming a 24-hour service are taking place in the West Cornwall Development Group. This group includes NHS clinicians and managers from the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, and from General Practice and community-based services in the West of Cornwall, together with local people and representatives from West Cornwall HealthWatch.