Plan to move Walsall walk-in centre into central shopping centre

The decision comes after a successful public plea to keep it in the main town centre after it is forced to move from its current site in Digbeth due to regeneration work.

However, health chiefs say it still faces being moved to Walsall Manor Hospital by 2020 under changes to the borough's urgent care services.

A public consultation over the future of the walk-in centre was held between May and August this year.

People were asked whether they wanted to see the facility moved to another site in the town centre, relocated to the north of the borough or merged with the existing emergency and urgent care walk-in centre at Manor Hospital.

More than 60 per cent of the 562 people who responded want to keep an urgent care walk-in service in the town centre and it has now been confirmed the Saddlers Shopping Centre has been identified.

However, there is a long-term vision for some urgent and emergency care services to be brought together at Walsall Manor's A&E department which would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Further assessment over parking and transport links to the hospital need to be carried out.

A statement from Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group said: "Following a decision of the CCG Governing Body at its meeting on November 27, which took into account the views of people who responded to a public consultation on urgent care services in the borough, Walsall Walk-In Health Centre is due to be relocated to the Saddlers Shopping Centre in summer 2015.

"The move will ensure the walk-in centre access is retained in the town centre for up to five years, and will form part of a unified urgent care system that operates from two sites over this period – the town centre and Walsall Manor Hospital.

"During this time the CCG will be working to address the practical issues raised through the consultation, including hospital parking and public transport, to enable the longer-term model of urgent care to be co-located and delivered from the Walsall Manor Hospital site by 2020.

"We will also work with primary care colleagues to improve access to GP services. Over this period we will continue to engage with local people and other stakeholders as we transition to the new model of urgent care access."