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<p>In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering
urgent and emergency care, which can be found here:</p><p>https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/trans-uec.pdf</p><p>This
provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and
emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency
departments. Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with
emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious
illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing
crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent
care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from those
used for patients with life-threatening or serious injuries or illnesses or who are
going to be admitted. The guidance also includes that where urgent care centres are
co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with
shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer
of patients.</p>
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