Updated 4 August 2022
The Walk in Centre is situated within the emergency department (ED) of Dewsbury and District Hospital, Halifax Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF13 4HS, which is part of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust (MYHT). The service is commissioned by NHS Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group. The service is nurse-led and provides urgent primary care for minor ailments and injuries with no requirement for patients to pre-book an appointment or to be registered at the centre or with a GP practice.
The service is operated by Locala Health & Wellbeing, a not-for-profit community healthcare provider, which delivers a range of NHS services within the community. Locala currently provides services in Bradford and Calderdale as well as Kirklees. Locala operates from Beckside Court (First Floor), Bradford Road, Batley WF17 5PW.
The nurse-led service provides assessment, advice and treatment for a range of minor illness and a selection of minor injuries. The provider has introduced a health care support worker role to the service to support the service model. The service does not see children under two years of age or women with pregnancy related issues.
The service is located within an area of the hospital ED and consists of four bays, a storage area and a small open desk adjacent to this area. Staff consult with patients within the bays and have access to patient notes using mobile computer workstations.
The service operates every day of the year. It is open between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday and between 10am and 6pm on a Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays.
There is a dedicated waiting room for patients accessing the service. There is level access and accessible facilities with car parking available within the hospital grounds.
The service employs a male ‘modern matron’ who is the clinical lead, five female nurse practitioners, one male health care support worker, three reception staff and a reception officer. The service regularly uses agency staff.
The Walk in Centre is registered with the Care Quality Commission to deliver services in relation to:
- Diagnostic and screening procedures
- Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
Kirklees has an ethnically diverse population with 21% of residents noting their ethnicity to be non-white in the 2011 Census. The largest group is people of South Asian origin which is 15%.