An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent

ambulatory care Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and proc ...

in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

(ED) located within a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...

. Urgent care centers primarily treat injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care but not serious enough to require an ED visit.

In the United Kingdom

In the

, urgent treatment centres (also called walk-in centres or minor injury units) are provided by the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, not on a commercial basis. They are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not life-threatening: This may typically include things like broken bones, minor infections, sprains and strains, cuts, grazes, minor burns or scalds, and bites and stings. They are not often located in retail facilities and are g