Advice for patients: What to do when Clinic 9/ UTC closes

The UTC (Urgent Treatment Centre, Clinic 9) is a shared clinical space serving multiple patient groups comprised of

1. Emergency department (ED) general practice (GP) service

Monday to Sunday 08:00 (8am) to 23:00 (11pm)

1. Minor injury service

Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 00:00 (Midnight)

1. Hertfordshire Urgent Care (HUC) out of hours GP service

Monday to Friday 19:00 (7pm) to 08:00 (8am)

Saturday and Sunday all day – via the 111 service

If you self-present or the assessment nurse sends you to Clinic 9, UTC from the ED, you will be re-directed to the main ED when/if the services listed above cannot see any more patients or are approaching their closing time.

Due to the different opening hours of individual services and variable patient demand, you may be asked to go back to the ED whilst other patients remain in the UTC, Clinic 9.

If you do go back to the main ED, you will not go to the end of the queue, but will join the queue in time order, based on your original arrival time.

We will always prioritise patients in accordance with the severity of their illness or injury. It is likely that if you have a minor illness or injury you will have to wait much longer.

If you do not feel your problem is life or limb threatening you may consider seeking care in other ways, including:

• Calling 111, who can provide advice on managing your problem over the phone, video or may be able to redirect you to a more appropriate service or scheduling an arrival time for you at the UTC or out of hours GP service.
• Contacting your own GP to make an urgent appointment.
• Attending one of the minor injury and illness units available in Doddington, Wisbech, Ely or Bishop Stortford. (Opening times and other details for these services are available at Please visit urgent and emergency care-services (opens in a new tab).)
• Attending your local pharmacy – Please visit pharmacy (opens in a new tab) – many pharmacies are now able to offer treatment for minor illnesses such as urinary tract infections directly through the Pharmacy First program.
• Re-attending the UTC at a less busy time (typically weekday mornings) if the problem cannot be dealt with by an alternative service mentioned above

If you do decide to leave, please let a member of staff know before leaving the premises.