Waiting made clear: Sharing our live emergency care times
Since July 2024 the Trust has been publishing live waiting times for emergency care across North Cumbria, including A&E and Urgent Treatment Centres. It covers real-time data, such as current occupancy and how many patients have arrived in the last hour.
The data is shown on digital signage in the waiting areas in our A&Es and is available on our website. We also promote it on social media during peak times of the year.
We hope that by sharing this information it will keep people better informed and help reduce frustrations when waiting.
No matter how busy our A&E departments are the most seriously ill and injured patients will always be seen first and as quickly as possible.
Dr Adrian Clements, Executive Medical Director, said:
“By adding this information to our website, we are giving people in our communities the ability to view current waiting times in our A&E departments so that they know what to expect during their visit as well as encouraging everyone to consider whether they could receive appropriate care at an urgent treatment centre, through their GP, or at a pharmacy.”
The information is available to view for A&E departments in Carlisle and Whitehaven, as well as our Urgent Treatment Centres in Keswick and Penrith.
The initiative aims to manage patient expectations and promote the often lower waiting times at Urgent Treatment Centres, suitable for non-life-threatening cases.
Our A&E waiting room in Carlisle has recently been renovated and the patient infomation and signage updated to help patients manage longer waits. This includes information on free WiFi, and our HUMAN campaign that reminds visitors to be respectful and is part of our work to reduce violence and aggression towards our staff.
For emergencies dial 999, and for non-emergencies refer to 111.nhs.uk, a Urgent Treatment Centre, your GP, or a pharmacy.
Live waiting times can be found on our website just go to our home page www.ncic.nhs.uk and look for the red emergency care hub or use this direct link: ncic.nhs.uk/locations/emergency-care-hub
Are you feeling unwell? Choose the right place to go:
NHS 111
Call 111 if you have an urgent medical problem and you’re not sure what to do. If you think you need medical help, 111 online can tell you what to do next. 111 online will not give you a diagnosis, but we will direct you to the best place to get help for your symptoms.
Emergency Departments | A&E | 999
A&E departments deal with life-threatening emergencies such as: stroke, heart attack, major trauma such as a road traffic accident, loss of consciousness, acute confused state, fits that are not stopping, chest pain, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding that cannot be stopped, severe allergic reactions, severe burns or scalds. If you or someone you know have any of these call 999 immediately.
Urgent Treatment Centres
This is the best place to go if you need urgent medical attention and it’s not life-threatening such as: sprains and strains, cuts and grazes, obvious broken bones (fractures), bites and stings, infected wounds, minor burns, head injury (if there has been no loss of consciousness), eye problems (such as minor eye infections, scratches or something that is stuck in your eye).
We have a range of healthcare professionals that work in the UTCs such as healthcare assistants, nurses, and medical practitioners. You will be triaged and we will ensure that you will see the most appropriate clinician to treat you.
X-ray service is available at the UTCs at the following times:
Penrith: Monday - Friday 8.30-4.30pm
Keswick: Monday - Friday 9.30-12.30pm
GP Surgery
This is the best place to go if you have an have an illness or injury that will not go away or if you notice changes in your body that are not normal. This includes changes with moles, new lumps, coughs, aches or pains that do not go away, blood in your urine or poo and concerns about your mental wellbeing.
Pharmacy
Pharmacists can help you with minor health concerns such as: coughs, colds and sore throats, flu, earache, cystitis, skin rashes, red eye, tummy trouble, indigestion and heartburn, aches and pains, teething, emergency contraception, weight management. You can find your closest pharmacy online: Find a pharmacy - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Self Care
Most common illnesses and problems will get better without the need to visit a doctor and can be treated at home. Click on the links for advice on how to manage your symptoms: back pain, colds, constipation, coughs, eczema, flu, fever in children, headache, indigestion and heartburn, migraine, sleep problems, urinary tract infections (UTI)
You can also visit nhs.uk/live-well for self-care tips and tools and nhs.uk/staywell for advice on how to look after yourself.