Local residents are being asked to help shape plans to improve urgent care services across Erdington and North Birmingham.

The NHS has launched a public consultation, which runs until 16 April 2026 and sets out two options for improving GP services outside normal opening hours.

It also wants people’s views on Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) which treat conditions such as sprains, suspected broken bones, rashes and infections.

The consultation comes on the back of research which suggests patients across the city find it difficult and confusing when they need to access care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.

Differences in opening hours, staffing, appointment arrangements and access to tests such as X-rays can make urgent care services harder to understand and navigate, both for patients and for staff supporting them.

Here, below, Dr Barbara King, Senior Responsible Officer for the review of UTCs and GP’s out-of-hours services, outlines the importance of the consultation.

When GP practices are closed, most face-to-face GP out-of-hours appointments take place at a central hub in inner-city Birmingham, with limited appointments elsewhere.

This can often mean longer journeys for some patients and result in people attending A&E when they could be treated in another setting – alleviating pressure on emergency departments.

Find out more about this consultation by clicking the link below;

www.birminghamsolihull.icb.nhs.uk/utc-review

You can complete the survey  by clicking the link below;

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/UTCServices/