Location of Urgent and unscheduled care gp centres inverclyde uk
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Executive summary
Inverclyde’s main urgent and unscheduled care hubs are based around Inverclyde Royal Hospital on Larkfield Road, Greenock and the nearby Greenock Health Centre, with GP Out‑of‑Hours (GPOOH) activity routed between those sites under NHSGGC arrangements [1] [2]. Recent changes to staffing and service models mean face‑to‑face out‑of‑hours provision in Inverclyde is limited and has been reconfigured to a “telephone first” and regional centre approach overseen by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde [3] [4].
1. Where the centres are located and how they operate
The physical hospital serving urgent and unscheduled needs in Inverclyde is Inverclyde Royal Hospital at Larkfield Road, Greenock PA16 0XN, which hosts the Emergency Department and provides nocturnal Out‑of‑Hours cover from midnight to 08:00 [1] [5] [2]. During evenings and daytime weekend peaks, NHSGGC directs patients requiring GP out‑of‑hours care to Greenock Health Centre — specifically from 18:00–00:00 Monday–Friday and 08:00–00:00 at weekends — with the hospital covering the remaining overnight period [2].
2. What “urgent and unscheduled care” means in local practice
NHSGGC defines urgent and unscheduled care pathways to include A&E, GP out‑of‑hours services, minor‑injury/urgent treatment centres and virtual/telephone assessment routes; the health board emphasises modernising services with virtual consultations and alternative pathways to reduce unnecessary A&E attendance [6] [3]. NHS Scotland policy similarly frames unscheduled care as a network across GPs, pharmacies and minor‑injury clinics rather than single‑site A&E reliance, with NHS 24 acting as the front door for advice and routing [7] [3].
3. Recent service reconfigurations and local response
NHSGGC has implemented temporary arrangements and at times suspended the Out‑of‑Hours GP base at Inverclyde Royal, prompting the routing of patients to Greenock Health Centre for specified hours and IRH overnight cover; this was described in NHSGGC communications about stabilising OOH services [1] [5] [2]. The Inverclyde Council leader publicly expressed disappointment at the decision, noting only 22% public support in local consultation and community calls for a seven‑day primary care emergency centre to be reinstated in Inverclyde — an implicit critique that workforce and modelling choices prioritise regional efficiency over local convenience [4].
4. How patients are expected to access these services
Access guidance from NHSGGC and the GPOOH page instructs patients to contact NHS 24 via 111 as the first step; where appropriate patients can receive phone or virtual consultations, home visits, or be directed to in‑person assessment at Greenock Health Centre or Inverclyde Royal depending on time and need [3] [6]. NHSGGC also highlights development of virtual pathways and hospital‑at‑home options to deliver urgent interventions without defaulting to A&E [6].
5. Limits of available reporting and practical implications
Public sources clearly identify Inverclyde Royal Hospital (Larkfield Road, Greenock PA16 0XN) and Greenock Health Centre as the principal local sites used for urgent GP out‑of‑hours care under current NHSGGC arrangements and note the shift to telephone‑first models, but they do not publish a broader fixed list of additional GP urgent‑care sites across Inverclyde within the materials provided here, nor a complete weekly rota of which centre covers every hour beyond the broad hours cited [1] [2] [3]. Reporting also documents local political pushback and the rationale NHSGGC used (low overnight face‑to‑face demand and staffing constraints), indicating the reconfiguration stems from capacity and workforce calculations as much as clinical pathway redesign [4].