Minor Injuries / Urgent Treatment Centre / A&E

Table of Contents

As a GP Practice, we have never stopped seeing our patients for minor injuries. With the COVID pandemic we have asked that anyone with a minor injury calls us so we can give them a time to attend (so we can manage the number of people in the building, to keep everyone safe) to be assessed and treated.

Minor injuries include:

  • Lacerations capable of closure by simple techniques (skin glue, steristrip)
  • Superficial Injury of eye
  • Partial thickness thermal burns or scalds involving broken skin:
  • Not over 1 inch diameter
  • Not involving the hands, feet, face, neck,
  • genital areas
  • Foreign bodies superficially embedded in tissues
  • An injury that is not amenable to simple domestic first aid, including for example
    Bruises
    Bites/stings
    Sprains/strains
    Sunburn
    Splinters
    Whiplash
    Minor Head injuries where there has been no loss of consciousness

Anything more serious than the above needs assessing and treating in the Urgent Treatment Centre at The Friarage, Northallerton where they can X-ray and suture (stitch) and deal with anything that’s over and above a minor injury.

We will always do our best to help but some injuries are beyond what’s possible to treat in primary care.

Urgent Treatment Centre, The Friarage

The Urgent Treatment Centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You do not need an appointment to attend. You can walk into the UTC.

In the Friarage Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), adults and children can be treated for:

  • Strains and sprains
  • Suspected broken limbs
  • Minor head injuries
  • Cuts and grazes (including those needing sutures)
  • Bites and stings
  • Minor scalds and burns
  • Ear and throat infections
  • Skin infections and rashes
  • Eye problems
  • Coughs and colds
  • Feverish illness
  • Abdominal pain
  • Vomiting and diarrhoea

They can now treat children with minor illnesses such as fever, rashes and earache.

When to go to A&E

A&E at James Cook University Hospital deals with genuine life-threatening emergencies, such as:

  • loss of consciousness
  • acute confused state and fits that are not stopping
  • chest pain
  • breathing difficulties
  • severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
  • severe allergic reactions
  • severe burns or scalds
  • stroke
  • major trauma such as a road traffic accident

For all of these serious, life-threatening emergencies please call 999 immediately.

All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes