Could urgent care centre cope with a crisis?
Mr Hickling said: "I'm concerned about incidents like the lorry going through the Christmas market, if something similar happens in Loughborough, they wouldn't know what to do."
Urgent Care Centre in Loughborough.
A LOCAL man has questioned how Loughborough Urgent Care Centre would handle a crisis after he says he was unable to have a catheter fitted as no doctor was present and the nurses staffing the centre were not trained to do so.
Lee Hickling, 41, of Maple Road, Loughborough, contacted the Echo after he visited the centre to be treated for water retention in December.
Mr Hickling, who is unable to remember the exact date of the incident, said he was told to go to the centre after calling 111 as he was "crying in agony".
He said: "It was around 11.45pm and I was told there would be no doctor on until the morning. There were only two nurses until 8am.
"I had to show them how to use the glucose machine as they didn't know how to and I was told they couldn't fit a catheter as no one was trained to do that sort of thing.
Mr Hickling continued: "I'm concerned about incidents like the lorry going through the Christmas market, if something similar happens in Loughborough, they wouldn't know what to do.
"The centre should be open 24-hours-a-day with doctors there, not nurses.
Tamsin Hooton, director of urgent and emergency care in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said: "The Loughborough Urgent Care Centre is staffed 24 hours a day seven-days-a-week by emergency care practitioners and emergency nurse practitioners [specialist nurses who can independently assess, diagnose, investigate, and treat a wide range of common accidents and injuries].
Dr Peter Cannon, GP in Loughborough and Clinical Lead at West Leicestershire CCG, said: "Catheterisation is a skilled procedure, requiring specific, specialist training. Clinicians who have not been trained in the procedure will refer a patient on to another, suitably qualified clinician.
Patients with concerns can visit www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk/contactus or call 01509 567700.