People being referred between urgent treatment centres (UTC) are seeing their waiting times reset due to a lack of communication between hospitals, a report claims. 

Healthwatch York has said that at York UTC on weekends or evenings, a number of people had been referred there by other UTCs, including Selby, Malton and Goole.

According to the report, which notes people’s experiences between May and July 2023, this was because x-rays or scans were not available at those times or staff did not have the relevant experience to help.

It continued to read: “People accepted this situation but when they arrived at York UTC, there had been no communication from the UTC they were sent from and they had to start the wait again at York.”

The report also said: “Some people described a lack of communication or coordination between NHS 111 and the UTC, particularly in York.”

These situations led to “frustrations” particularly when waiting times were more than three hours.

“A few people had had x-rays or scans at different hospitals or were at the UTC as a result of an ongoing condition getting worse,” the report reads. 

“In all instances, staff at York Hospital were not able to access information from other hospitals or the person’s local GP practice. 

“In all instances, this was frustrating for everyone involved and created further delays to people getting treatment or the right treatment.”

However, Healthwatch said just 11 per cent of people it spoke to when it visited York UTC were waiting for more than three hours. 

The report added: “People were particularly frustrated when they saw people who had arrived later than them going in before them. 

“In York, this can be explained by two different services (minor injury and minor illness) working in the same area, but with different providers and staffing. 

“However, this is not clear to people waiting.”

A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board ICB said: “This research from Healthwatch North Yorkshire and Healthwatch York was commissioned by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and we are grateful to everyone who provided their feedback on urgent care services.

“It’s pleasing to note that patient feedback on urgent care services is mostly positive.

“Since the research was conducted, we had already taken a number of steps to improve services, including increasing GP out-of-hours cover and improving collaboration between different parts of the out-of-hours and urgent care system in York and North Yorkshire to make it easier for patients to access the right care when they need it.

“From October 1, Totally (known locally as Vocare) has been working collaboratively with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and NimbusCare to build increased resilience across local urgent care services in York, Scarborough, Malton and Selby.

“At Scarborough Hospital, Totally is now working closely with the hospital team to co-deliver the overnight minor injuries service and emergency department front door streaming (assessing patients presenting for urgent or emergency care).

 “Meanwhile Nimbuscare (the York GP federation) is providing additional capacity to support the delivery of the overnight GP out-of-hours service across York, Scarborough, and Malton, from 11pm to 8am, seven days a week.

“Recent winters have placed unprecedented demand on GP practices, urgent care (including urgent treatment centres and GP out-of-hours services), and hospital emergency departments. 

“By working together effectively in an increasingly integrated way, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is confident that patients will be better supported to access the right care, in the right place, at the right time this winter.”