A Newcastle walk-in centre that has been shut due to staffing shortages may never reopen, it is feared.
The Westgate Road Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) has been temporarily closed since November last year, with health bosses reporting that there are simply not enough GPs or nurse practitioners to keep it running. NHS chiefs have already decided to keep the facility, which is at the old Newcastle General Hospital site, shut until at least the end of September.
But, with staffing problems showing no sign of being resolved, councillors have questioned the long-term future of the walk-in centre. Liberal Democrat Wendy Taylor told a meeting of Newcastle City Council’s health scrutiny committee on Thursday that it seemed “very unlikely” that it could ever reopen.
