The petition of residents of the constituency of Rugby,
Declares that the continuing investment in services at the Hospital of St Cross, a much-loved local hospital at the heart of our community is welcome; further declares that, as shown by recent demonstrations, members of the community in Rugby are concerned about ensuring the continued provision of urgent treatment from this site, and that these concerns have been raised at consultation events and meetings with health leaders; and further declares that there is not yet clarity as to how the Integrated Care Board’s review of urgent care will affect the Hospital of St Cross.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board to ensure that urgent care provision at the Hospital of St Cross, Rugby is retained and enhanced, to include a doctor led urgent care service.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by John Slinger, Official Report, 10 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 752.]
[P003162]
Observations from the Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth): In July 2025, the Government published our 10-year health plan for England, which set out as one of its three strategic shifts the moving of delivery of care from the hospital into the community. The Government are taking broad action to enable this, and a new neighbourhood health model will expand urgent care at home and in the community, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and improving patient experience.
The Government expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, co-ordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in different places across the country. Guidance to provide greater clarity and consistency for systems in developing and scaling neighbourhood health is being developed and is expected to be available soon.
For urgent care, this means: encouraging the use of alternative community services before attending A&E; expanding urgent care access in primary, community and mental health settings, including more support from urgent community response teams; and expanding the use of virtual wards.
Regarding urgent care provision at the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby, the Government are informed that Coventry & Warwickshire integrated care board (ICB) are progressing a phased approach to commissioning an integrated urgent and emergency care (IUEC) model to support both immediate service improvements and long-term system transformation. This is aligned with the Government’s wider aims of a greater proportion of care being delivered away from hospital.
The ICB has been working to support this in the shorter term by taking action to improve access, reduce unnecessary travel and better align services to the needs of the Rugby population, particularly around walk-in demand, GP access out of hours and use of the Rugby urgent treatment centre (UTC).
The UTC at the Hospital of St Cross remains available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and patients over the age of five with minor injuries and illnesses can attend the UTC, where trained nursing staff with advanced assessment and treatment skills can undertake an assessment and give advice and treatment. Nursing staff have a direct link to emergency medicine consultants at University Hospital Coventry emergency department 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Government understand that Coventry and Warwickshire ICB have shared an update on work in this area with John Slinger MP and have offered opportunities for further engagement should this be required.