Emergency departments and Urgent Treatment Centres

Urgent Treatment Centres

To ensure our patients require the best and most appropriate care for their needs, our Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) are based next to the Emergency Departments at Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals.

They act as an alternative to our Accident and Emergency departments and provide medical help in non-life-threatening emergencies, alongside a range of other services including: GPs; pharmacists; dentists; opticians; Ambulance service; other community-based facilities.

• Colchester Hospital Urgent Treatment Centres is open between 7am and 11pm.
• Ipswich Hospital Urgent Treatment Centres is open between 8am and midnight.

We also have an Urgent Treatment Centre based at Clacton Hospital which is open between 8am and 8pm every day.

At our Urgent Treatment Centres you will be seen by a nurse practitioner who will assess your condition and direct you to the appropriate service.

If they assess that you need to be seen in the Urgent Treatment Centre, then you may be triaged or asked to take a seat in the waiting area.

We treat patients for many minor injuries and conditions including:

• trauma wounds
• burns and scalds
• strains and sprains
• bites and stings
• suspected fractures
• foreign bodies
• coughs and chest infections
• ear, nose and throat infections
• skin problems and rashes
• emergency contraception
• stomach problems
• urinary infections
• eye infections

We also treat patients with minor illness.

Emergency only

You should only come to the Emergency Department at Colchester Hospital or Ipswich Hospital if you are really unwell or have had an accident.

If you do need to come to the Emergency Department, a nurse will see you and decide where you need to go for treatment.

You may then be sent to a different part of the department, depending on what is wrong with you.

Tests conducted to help you diagnose your problem:

• x-ray
• blood tests
• ECG
• urine tests

Once all your test results have arrived you may:

• be sent home
• be admitted to a ward
• be sent to the Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) for further tests or an overnight stay
• be sent to the Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU) for further tests.

If you have a health concern that’s not an emergency, but you are thinking about coming to A&E, call NHS 111 first.

Colchester Hospital Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre

The Emergency Department is on the ground floor of the main block.

Colchester Emergency Department Accessibility information from AccessAble (Opens in a new window)

For more information about conditions please go to the NHS website (Opens in a new window).

Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department

The Emergency department is located next to the Urgent Treatment Centre.

As well as emergency help, we offer:

• emergency ultrasound
• children’s illness and injury assessment
• consultant outpatient review clinic
• physiotherapy clinic
• sports and exercise medicine in association with Ipswich Town Football Club

Minor injury units at community hospitals