Patients are being put at risk by reforms that are designed to relieve pressure from overstretched A & E departments, doctors have warned.

The reforms have paved the way for new ‘urgent care’ centres where patients can seek help for a range of ailments and injuries in the same way A & E departments do.

Dozens of the centres are planned for NHS trusts across the country in a bid to reduce the burden on A & E departments. The urgent care centres will deal with minor, non emergency cases, allowing A & E departments to direct their resources to the most serious cases.

Read full article: Emergency Services News.