24 Oct 2025
Video campaign urges residents to help ease winter pressures by using WIC/UTCs
Mersey Care has launched a series of videos designed to ease the strain on services this winter and urge residents to go to their nearest walk-in centre (WIC) or urgent treatment centre (UTC) for non-emergency issues.
One of the largest mental and community health trusts in the North West, Mersey Care run WIC/UTCs across Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton and have released five videos today to raise awareness on how to use these services and help ease the demand on A&E services.
The videos cover a number of different topics and will be available on Mersey Care’s website and social media channels:
- When to visit UTC: https://youtu.be/11xfuaoo5YM
- No tricks just treatment: https://youtu.be/qhfU2cyqOlU
- City WIC instead of A&E: https://youtu.be/f7SRvrlJBK0
- Where are they located: https://youtu.be/CpGakaXoigM
- Winter pressures: https://youtu.be/2fNCgzCBF4I
Lee McMenemy, Mersey Care’s Divisional Director for Community Care, said: “At this time of year there’s always pressure on the local health systems and by developing these videos, we will continue to play our part in helping to ease the demand on the busy A&E departments.
“We’ve recently standardised the opening hours of all our urgent care centres from 8am, to 8pm, so local residents have equal access regardless of where they live, and these videos tell you all you need to know about how they help families. There’s even a video showing hints and tips to ensure everyone enjoys Halloween without any worrying incidents.”
The WIC/UTC services provide care for most non-emergency issues, including minor injuries and illnesses, rashes and allergic reactions, eye injuries and infections and minor burns and scalds.
Last winter (1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025) Mersey Care played an important role in helping towards easing system pressures with their WIC/UTCs providing 131,270 face to face appointments, with 97% of patients all seen and treated within four hours.
For more information about the urgent treatment centres (UTCs) and walk-in centres (WICs) delivered by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, visit www.merseycare.nhs.uk/urgent-treatment
ends
For further information please contact: Myles Hodgson, Media Manager, 0151 473 2797 myles.hodgson@merseycare.nhs.uk or Communications on 0151 471 2336.
Contact Information
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
communications@merseycare.nhs.uk
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Mersey Care is a community mental health and physical health provider that delivers a wide range of community health and specialist mental health services across North West England and beyond. Our vision is to strive for perfect, whole-person care that helps the population we serve live happier, healthier lives.
For six of the seven councils within Liverpool City Region – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Warrington - we provide a range of specialist mental health inpatient services and community physical health, mental health, learning disabilities, addiction services together with acquired brain injury services.
Our clinical services are delivered from over 170 sites across the North West. Our teams are supported by a corporate team based at our offices in Kings Business Park, Prescot, Merseyside. Over 10,000 staff serve a population of 1,442,200.
We also provide secure mental health services for the North West of England, the West Midlands and Wales and specialist learning disability services across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside. We are one of only three trusts in the country that provide high secure mental health services.
Notes to editors
Mersey Care Fact File
During 2024/25 Mersey Care
- employed around 11,000 staff and served a population of more than 1.4 million people across our region (Halton, Warrington, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton and St Helens), as of 31 March 2025, and is also commissioned for services that cover the North West, Wales and the Midlands
- provided care, treatment and support through its community, mental health, secure and specialist learning disability services to 89,744 service users
- received 384,313 distinct referrals within its community services
- provided services from 373 sites
- had 958 inpatient beds, as of 31 March 2025
- had 3,167,102 outpatient attendances, community contacts or domiciliary visits.
(Statistics based on audited figures for 2024/25)
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