Published: 13 November 2025
Public Health Wales has carried out a new rapid evidence review to improve urgent care and help take pressure off A&E departments in Wales. This review looked at ideas from around the world and used the latest research to help improve services in Wales. The goal of urgent care services in Wales is to make sure people can get the care they need quickly and safely, especially when they have urgent health problems, without the need to visit A&E departments.
Some of the promising ideas identified in the review include making it easier for healthcare professionals to access tests for their patients, opening more urgent care treatment centres, and offering virtual urgent care. Virtual urgent care means people can speak to a healthcare professional by phone or video for urgent advice, without needing to travel. The review also suggests using smart tools to help guide people to the right care like phone advice lines, apps that help patients check their symptoms, and tools that support healthcare staff in making decisions.
The review shows that when urgent care services are well planned, they can be safer, faster, and better for everyone. To make this happen, services need to invest in training staff, making information clear, and ensuring care is easy to access for all communities. It’s also important that people understand when and how to use these services, so they can get help in the right way at the right time.
While more research is still needed, the findings of this review show promise for reducing pressure on hospitals and helping patients get the right care the first time. This work gives a strong starting point for improving how urgent care is delivered in Wales. Future studies will help confirm these ideas and guide further changes.
Dr Kirsty Little, Consultant in Public Health at Public Health Wales, said:
“Urgent care is a system, not a single service or setting. Our rapid evidence review highlights that service components such as digital triage, virtual urgent care, access to diagnostics, and urgent care/treatment centres can support timely and safe care for patients, while helping to relieve pressure on other urgent and emergency services.
To make this work for Wales, we need services that are well-designed , inclusive and underpinned by strong training and communication. Ongoing evaluation is also essential to ensure improvements are evidence led.”
This work is a collaboration between the Evidence Service (Research, Data and Digital Directorate) and the International Health Insights team (Policy and International Health Directorate, WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Wellbeing) at Public Health Wales.
You can read the executive summary and full technical report below:
Urgent care components and their effectiveness executive summary 2025
Urgent care components and their effectiveness - Technical report