Carlisle urgent care center to tackle overcrowding at A&E

A £12 million urgent treatment center (UTC) is to be built to address overcrowding in accident and emergency departments.

Cumberland Infirmary’s A&E in Carlisle was built to treat 30,000 people a year, but last year it treated 78,300 people.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), which runs the hospital, said overcrowding could lead to “issues with the privacy and dignity of our patients”.

Funding has been secured to allow construction work on the urgent treatment center to begin in the new year, with the unit expected to open by the end of 2025.

UTC will be built next to the existing emergency department and will have 12 clinical rooms.

Cumbria Health, which provides out-of-hours GP services, will also be located in the same building.

NCIC emergency medicine consultant Mike Rickards said the center will open up capacity for “acutely unwell” patients.