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Open letter

Upgrade urgent care at the Hospital of St Cross.

An open letter to the Chief Executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board from John Slinger MP and residents of Rugby, Bulkington and the Villages

The entrance to Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre at the Hospital of St Cross
Photo: Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre by G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, number plate blurred.

What this letter says

  • The Urgent Treatment Centre at the Hospital of St Cross should be doctor-led.
  • Rugby’s population grew by 14.3% between 2011 and 2021, and nearby A&E departments are under heavy pressure. Urgent care in Rugby has not kept pace.
  • The Integrated Care Board is redesigning urgent and emergency care right now, which makes this the moment to act.

What we are asking the ICB to do

  • Upgrade the Urgent Treatment Centre at St Cross to provide more doctor-led care and treatment.
  • Make this happen as soon as possible, so people in Rugby get faster and better urgent care at their local hospital.
Add your name
Simon Trickett
Chief Executive, Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board

Dear Mr Trickett,

Rugby needs a doctor-led Urgent Treatment Centre at the Hospital of St Cross, and it needs one soon. I have long campaigned for this, and I am writing on behalf of myself and the residents of Rugby, Bulkington and the Villages who have added their names to this letter.

People in Rugby and the surrounding villages are proud of St Cross. Its staff and volunteers do a great deal for our community, and we have seen real investment in its diagnostic and treatment services in recent years. The nurses who run the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) provide an excellent service, and we welcome the changes that brought the GP out-of-hours service into the UTC and added more appointments for patients.

Even so, many of us have been worried about urgent care in Rugby for several years. The Borough of Rugby grew by 14.3% between 2011 and 2021, one of the highest rates of population growth in England and Wales, while the A&E at University Hospital Coventry and other nearby hospitals are under heavy pressure. A town growing this fast needs urgent care that keeps pace. That means more doctors at St Cross.

Campaign groups, councillors and MPs from all parties, and above all individual residents, have pressed for this upgrade for many years. This letter carries their work forward.

We welcome the ICB’s Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme, which you have said is designed “to respond to people’s needs, reduce waiting times, bring care closer to where people live, and to offer patients more joined-up care.” We also note the engagement and listening exercise you ran as part of it, and the updates on your website (https://www.happyhealthylives.uk/integrated-care-board/service-transformation/integrated-urgent-and-emergency-care-programme/).

You have told us the ICB is now designing a more integrated model of care, so this is the right moment to be clear. We ask you to upgrade the Urgent Treatment Centre at St Cross to provide more doctor-led care and treatment, and to do so as soon as possible, so that people in Rugby can get faster and better urgent care at their local hospital.

We look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

John Slinger MP

Member of Parliament for Rugby, Bulkington and the Villages

and the residents who have co-signed this letter

Co-signatories

Residents who agree with this letter can add their name below. You can choose whether your name is listed publicly. When the letter is sent to the ICB, it will include everyone who has signed.

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