Chase Farm Hospital has opened an urgent care centre to treat people with non life threatening injuries.

Urgent care centres now open at the Enfield hospital and at Barnet Hospital will help to take pressure off accident and emergency units.

Staffed by doctors, they will treat broken bones, minor head injuries, bad sprains or strains and eye injuries.

The Enfield centre will run alongside the existing A&E at Chase Farm in The Ridgeway, which is due to close next month following a decision by the Clinical Commissioning Group.

Cathy Geddes, director of clinical strategy at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The opening of these centres shows there is a determination to provide the very best services possible for everyone living in the area. There is no need to book an appointment, people can simply turn up and will be seen by either a doctor or nurse.

“However, they are for patients with urgent care needs. Those who attend A&E or the new urgent care centres with minor illnesses or injuries will be sent back to their GPs or an appointment made for them. The centres are part of a raft of changes aimed at ensuring people in the area receive the right treatment at the right place and the right time.”

It was revealed that more than 40 per cent of patients who go to either hospital’s A&E departments do not need emergency care, but can be treated in an urgent care centre.

An assessment will be carried out and patients can be transferred to a local A&E department if necessary.

There will be a GP out-of-hours service available when the urgent care centres are closed, which can be contacted by calling 111.

Enfield Borough Council has since opted to take legal action against the proposed closure of Chase Farm A&E.