A new Urgent Care Centre will open at the Ulster Hospital on Thursday 19 June 2025 at 8.00 am, providing a modern, purpose-built facility to assess and treat a range of minor injuries and patients requiring urgent care.
From 6.00 pm on Wednesday 18 June 2025, the current Minor Injury Unit, at the front of the Ulster Hospital site, will close. This service has been operating from the old Emergency Department, since September 2023.
From Thursday 19 June 2025, patients with minor injuries will now be seen in the new Urgent Care Centre, which is located in the level below the Emergency Department. It can be accessed through the Critical Care Unit at the rear of the hospital site, beside the multi-storey car park. Signs will be in place to guide patients to the new centre.
The Urgent Care Centre will operate a walk-in and Phone First service, available seven days a week from 8.00 am – 6.00 pm.
It is designed to treat a wide range of minor injuries, such as broken bones, burns and scalds, bites, nosebleeds, cuts, sprains and wounds and other various minor injuries.
The Phone First triage service is available Monday to Friday from 8.00 am – 6.00 pm, where patients will be given an appointment if appropriate. This service can be accessed by calling (028) 9151 0110.
Welcoming the new development, the Trust’s Director of Unscheduled Care, Marc Neil said, “We are very excited that our new Urgent Care Centre is opening on the 19 June 2025 which adds to the Emergency Department that opened in September 2023. We now have fantastic facilities in which to deliver urgent and emergency care at the Ulster Hospital. It has been a hugely significant investment by the Trust to deliver this brand new facility. It will be excellent for our patients and for our staff.”
Clinical Director of Emergency Medicine, Dr Andrew Dobbin added, “The new Urgent Care Centre represents a major investment in how we provide timely care for patients with minor injuries. By locating it alongside the Emergency Department, we are improving access, patient flow and the overall experience. This facility will allow us to treat patients more efficiently in a modern, purpose-built environment.”
Interim Clinical Manager for Emergency and Acute Unscheduled Care, Maggie Magowan commented, “Our staff have worked extremely hard to prepare for this transition and we are delighted to now be able to offer this enhanced service. The Urgent Care Centre will help reduce waiting times and ensure patients are treated in the right place, by the right people, at the right time.”
Patients attending the Urgent Care Centre who have mobility issues or cannot walk from the car park, can be dropped off at the main Emergency Department entrance and take the lift down one level to access the Centre.
