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From Thursday, October 1, patients can ring a special number – 0300 1110111 – and they will be passed to the service they need.
It is not for emergencies – if an adult or child has a serious illness or injury, people should still dial 999 and ask for an ambulance.
The new urgent care service provides treatment or advice for people who have a minor injury or suddenly feel ill. It is a network linking doctors, nurses and others who work across hospitals and health centres based in the community.
Services are provided from six urgent care centres staffed by GPs and highly qualified staff skilled in emergency care. Patients can walk in without an appointment but are advised to call 0300 1110111 first.
The centres are in Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, Dr Piper House, Darlington, University Hospital of North Durham, Seaham Medical Centre and Peterlee Community Hospital.
These are open 24 hours a day apart from University Hospital of North Durham which operates an out of hours service between 6.00pm and 8.00 am Monday Friday and from 6.00 pm Friday to 8.00 am Monday, and Seaham Urgent Care Centre which is open 8.30 am – 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.
Accident & Emergency (A&E) services are available at Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University of Hospital of North Durham.
And patients can also get medical advice by calling their own GPs in working hours or NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
The urgent care service is run by the NHS County Durham, County Durham and Darlington Community Services, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, North East Ambulance Services NHS Trust and Primecare all working together.
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