NHS HighlandA hospital on the Isle of Skye has extended its opening hours until midnight on weekends and public holidays.
NHS Highland said the change is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP)-led, non-emergency, appointment-based, out-of-hours primary care service.
Urgent care will be available by appointment only between 6.30pm and 11.59pm on Friday and between 8.30am and 11.59pm on Saturday, Sundays and public holidays.
The service is said to be for patients who cannot wait until their GP surgery next opens.
A warning said that anyone requiring urgent care should always call NHS 24 on 111 before attending the urgent centre.
Patients may be asked to contact 111 to arrange an appointment if appropriate, and 999 should always be called in an emergency.
Louise Bussell, NHS Highland’s Nurse Director, said: “This is a significant step towards delivering one of the recommendations outlined in Sir Lewis Ritchie’s report.
“We will continue to keep the community updated on developments as we work to ensure the Urgent Care Centre is open seven-days-a-week.”
The new model for 24/7 urgent care access will be available from Friday, August 16 and further information is available here.
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