Minor injuries unit move to Thurrock Community Hospital on track for 2 November opening 

Final preparations are underway for the minor injuries unit (MIU) supporting patients in and around Thurrock, Basildon, Brentwood and Castle Point to move from Orsett Hospital to Thurrock Community Hospital in Long Lane, Grays.  

The £1million move is on track with the MIU at Orsett Hospital ready to close its doors for the final time at 12 noon on Friday 30 October. The relocated service will open at Thurrock Community Hospital at 10am on Monday 2 November.   

The move will mean some temporary changes in access to minor injury care. Between midday on Friday 30 October and 10am on Monday 2 November anyone with a minor injury should contact NHS 111 to be directed to an appropriate service for their needs or go to Basildon Hospital emergency department.   

Local NHS teams have been hard at work upgrading the MIU’s new base at the John Tallack Centre to create first-class clinical facilities and a welcoming, accessible space that provides the best possible care and experience for patients.   

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), which runs the MIU, has overseen a transformation of the patient spaces. These include a much bigger and more comfortable waiting area and specialist treatment facilities, including a purpose-built wound care room with integrated shower facilities and a dedicated plaster room.  

We’re thrilled to be moving our minor injuries service into a modern, fit-for-purpose healthcare facility that will support safer and more effective care delivery and we’re looking forward to welcoming our first patients. Our staff are looking forward working in new purpose-built clinical environment that is designed to improve patient privacy, dignity and comfort.

The improved facilities coupled with closer access to diagnostic services will enable us to provide a step-up in patient care and experience that will be positive for our staff too.

Gill Burns, Service Director at NELFT

NHS Essex has been working with Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), which operates the Thurrock Community Hospital site, to ensure adequate parking, access and signage for patients and staff. This has included levelling the footpath between the MIU and the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) where people will go for x-rays.   

NHS Essex has moved to reassure people that the 251 parking spaces at Thurrock Community Hospital will be able to accommodate visitors.   

Thanks to the £1million funding secured by NHS Essex and a great team effort by local NHS organisations we’re moving the MIU into a new healthcare environment designed to meet current clinical standards and support future service development.  

As well as improved facilities, patients will see a more streamlined service with the MIU working closely with the Community Diagnostic Centre to provide care, tests and treatment in one place. 

This move is more than a change of location. It is part of our five-year plan to expand urgent care services for local people. We plan to build on this move by developing the service into an Urgent Treatment Centre that will care for minor illnesses as well as minor injuries, helping more patients and diverting people from hospital emergency departments.

Samantha Goldberg, Executive Director of Commercial, Estates and Resilience, NHS Essex Integrated Care Board

The planned development of the service into an Urgent Treatment Centre from April 2027 would expand the service to include minor illnesses as well as minor injuries, with longer opening hours. The new UTC is expected to see almost 54,000 patients a year, compared with around 29,000 patients currently using the MIU service.  

Frequently asked questions about the move

We know patients and local people may have questions about the move from Orsett Hospital to Thurrock Community Hospital.

The information below explains why the service is moving, what this means for patients and how to access the new location.

NHS Essex wants to improve urgent care for local people.

Moving the MIU to the John Tallack Centre at Thurrock Community Hospital will allow services to be provided from a more modern healthcare facility that is better suited to meeting the needs of a growing population.

It will also bring the service alongside the Community Diagnostic Centre, meaning patients who need tests or scans can access them on the same site without travelling elsewhere.

When the service moves to Thurrock Community Hospital, it will continue to offer the same walk-in service for minor injuries as it does now.

This includes:

  • Sprains and strains
  • Cuts, grazes and bruises
  • Minor burns and scalds
  • Suspected broken bones in limbs, fingers or toes
  • Minor head injuries without loss of consciousness
  • Insect bites and animal stings
  • Minor eye problems or foreign objects in the eye

The move is the first step towards the planned development of an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), which is expected to open in April 2027. The UTC will provide treatment for both minor injuries and minor illnesses.

Further information about the proposed UTC will be shared as plans progress.

The MIU at Thurrock Community Hospital will be located in more modern facilities, providing a better environment for patients and staff.

It will sit alongside the Community Diagnostic Centre, which offers a range of diagnostic tests including:

  • X-rays
  • MRI scans
  • CT scans
  • Ultrasound scans
  • Blood tests
  • Heart investigations

Bringing urgent treatment and diagnostic services together in one location will help patients access care more quickly and conveniently.

The new MIU will also have a larger waiting area, allowing patients to sit comfortably indoors after booking in.

When the service moves to Thurrock Community Hospital, it will keep the same opening hours:

10am to 7.30pm, seven days a week.

As now, the service will close at 6.30pm on the last Thursday of each month.

X-ray services will be available for longer than at the current Orsett site. Through the Community Diagnostic Centre, patients will be able to access x-rays from 8am to 8pm every day.

The planned Urgent Treatment Centre is expected to have longer opening hours. More information will be shared closer to its opening.

Yes. The staff who currently provide the service at Orsett Hospital will continue to provide care at Thurrock Community Hospital.

There are plans to increase staffing levels when the service develops into an Urgent Treatment Centre.

The MIU will be based in the John Tallack Centre at Thurrock Community Hospital.

Clear signs will be installed throughout the hospital site to help patients find the service.

Yes. Accessibility is one of the strengths of the Thurrock Community Hospital site.

Facilities include:

  • Disabled parking spaces
  • Step-free access across the site
  • Accessible entrances and routes to services

Thurrock Community Hospital is located on Long Lane in Grays and is easily accessible by road and public transport.
Direct services to Thurrock Community Hospital

  • 88 and 88A (Monday to Sunday): Chafford Hundred, Grays, Socketts Heath, Thurrock Community Hospital, Stifford Clays and Orsett
  • 269 (Monday to Saturday): Grays, Thurrock Community Hospital, Stifford Clays, South Ockendon and Brentwood

Services via Grays Interchange

  • 100: Lakeside, Grays, Stanford-le-Hope, Corringham and Basildon Hospital
  • 73: Lakeside, West Thurrock, Grays and Tilbury
  • 83: Lakeside, West Thurrock, Grays, Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary

By train

The nearest railway station is Grays.

c2c trains operate between Shoeburyness and London Fenchurch Street, with stops including Ockendon, Rainham and stations serving the wider south Essex area.

You can catch a bus from Grays station to Thurrock Community Hospital.

View the c2c timetable

Yes.

Thurrock Community Hospital has 251 parking spaces, which are free to use for for all visitors. There are a number of spaces within a short walk of the John Tallack Centre where the MIU is based.

Alternative parking has been identified for staff working at the MIU so that spaces nearest to the John Tallack Centre can be prioritised for use by MIU visitors as much as possible.

An audit of car parking usage at Thurrock Community Hospital over the peak midday hour during the last week of September showed that between 35 and 62 spaces were free across the site on each day across the week. With the MIU needing an estimated 27 spaces across the whole day (averaging around 3 spaces an hour) we are confident that there are enough spaces for people using the MIU.  

Additional parking improvements are also being carried out to increase capacity.

The MIU at Orsett Hospital will close at 12 noon on Friday 30 October 2026.

The new MIU at Thurrock Community Hospital will open at 10am on Monday 2 November 2026.

If you need treatment for a minor injury during that weekend, you should use another urgent care service.

Helpful links:

The x-ray machine currently based at Orsett Hospital will move to Thurrock Community Hospital. However, it will not be operational until mid-December while specialist installation work is completed.

In the meantime, patients requiring x-rays will use the Community Diagnostic Centre next door. Once the MIU x-ray equipment is operational, both x-ray facilities will be available, providing additional capacity for patients.