Shrewsbury Winter Illness Centre helps reduce pressure on GP practices and A&E

As the Shrewsbury Winter Illness Centre opens for its third winter, two of the women behind the initiative reflect on its success and how it is helping patients get the fast, expert care they need during the busiest months of the year.

The centre was first created after a difficult winter in 2022, when a rise in strep A (scarlet fever) cases led to more people attending A&E and local GP practices became overwhelmed. Shrewsbury Primary Care Network (PCN) recognised the need for a dedicated service to ensure patients with winter illnesses could still be seen quickly and safely.

Dr Charlotte Hart, Clinical Director for Shrewsbury PCN and a local GP, recalled: “That winter was awful for patients and practices. We needed to do something so people could be seen quickly and effectively.”

To support more than 100,000 patients across 11 practices, the PCN designed a new clinic from the ground up. “We were building a service from scratch,” said Dr Hart. “Finding a location, recruiting staff, deciding who we’d see and how the appointments would be booked.”

The Winter Illness Centre opened at Severn Fields Health Village in October 2023. Following a successful first year, it ran again in 2024 and is set to reopen for winter 2025, offering same-day, face-to-face appointments for symptoms such as coughs, sore throats, fevers and earaches.

Caroline Brown, Chief Operating Officer, Shrewsbury PCN, explained: “It's GP-led, ensuring senior clinical expertise is available at all times. But most patients are seen by the experienced advanced practitioners and paramedics. That allows our GP practices to focus on patients with complex needs who require continuity of care.”

Patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with more than 95% of patients rating the service as good or very good. “The quality of care that we provide is excellent,” said Caroline. “Most patients are seen within three hours of phoning their GP, and within 10 minutes of their appointment time. They really value that rapid access.”

While the centre was created to give patients better access to care, it has also had a positive impact across local health services. In winter 2023, A&E departments saw fewer attendances for coughs and sore throats from Shrewsbury practices, bucking the usual seasonal trend.

Dr Hart added: “This initiative benefits everyone in the healthcare system. Dealing with these cases in a timely way means they're not deteriorating to the stage of needing a hospital, and everyone is seen in the most appropriate place.”

Raising awareness was key to its success. “We wanted patients to know about the clinic before it was offered,” said Dr Hart. “If your GP says, ‘We can't see you, but someone else can’, you don't want to feel palmed off. We used all our social media platforms and websites to make sure that patients would understand why we were doing this, and that it was a positive, well-thought-out option.”

She concluded: “When I hear patients say, ‘I've been there before, I'm happy to go back’, I know we've achieved what we set out to do.”

The Winter Illness Centre is open to patients registered with Shrewsbury PCN GP practices only and is accessed via your GP surgery.

To find out more watch Dr Charlotte Hart and Caroline discuss the Winter Illness Centre in this video: