I know this isn’t without its challenges and the pressures on community nursing teams are significant but our 2025 RCN Scotland Team of the Year, the Angus Urgent Care Nursing Team, has redefined what is possible in nurse-led urgent care.
In just one year, they have expanded from a single pilot practice to a region-wide service managing over 10,000 patient contacts annually, becoming a vital part of the Angus primary care infrastructure.
The team set out with a clear aim: to deliver rapid, person-centred urgent care while relieving pressure on general practice. Their mission was rooted in evidence—drawing on national guidelines and local healthcare data to inform their structure, practice standards, and deployment. From day one, their model emphasised integration, collaboration, and compassion.
The team embedded themselves within local GP surgeries, working shoulder-to-shoulder with doctors, receptionists, and wider healthcare teams. This integration fostered trust, streamlined processes, and ensured patients received seamless, high-quality care at the point of need.
Their success is underpinned by a culture of collaboration, not just within clinics but also with the Angus Health and Social Care Partnership and local policymakers – helping their NHS board to realise Scotland’s ambition for improved access and care closer to home.
I know their journey hasn’t been without challenges. Early scepticism around nurse-led urgent care and the logistics of scaling up required clear communication, consistent clinical excellence, and strategic planning. Overcoming these hurdles has strengthened the service and more than half the current team are trainees, supported by robust mentorship structures that ensure continued growth and sustainability.
The results speak for themselves. Patient satisfaction is consistently high, waiting times have decreased, and GP capacity has improved, allowing doctors to focus on more complex care. There’s also been a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions—contributing to a more efficient, resilient healthcare system.
The Angus Urgent Care Nursing Team exemplifies what modern, person-centred community nursing can achieve—combining compassion, evidence, and innovation to meet today’s healthcare challenges head-on, making them a shining example of how nursing can lead transformation in primary care.
In just one year, they have expanded from a single pilot practice to a region-wide service managing over 10,000 patient contacts annually, becoming a vital part of the Angus primary care infrastructure.
The team set out with a clear aim: to deliver rapid, person-centred urgent care while relieving pressure on general practice. Their mission was rooted in evidence—drawing on national guidelines and local healthcare data to inform their structure, practice standards, and deployment. From day one, their model emphasised integration, collaboration, and compassion.
The team embedded themselves within local GP surgeries, working shoulder-to-shoulder with doctors, receptionists, and wider healthcare teams. This integration fostered trust, streamlined processes, and ensured patients received seamless, high-quality care at the point of need.
Their success is underpinned by a culture of collaboration, not just within clinics but also with the Angus Health and Social Care Partnership and local policymakers – helping their NHS board to realise Scotland’s ambition for improved access and care closer to home.
I know their journey hasn’t been without challenges. Early scepticism around nurse-led urgent care and the logistics of scaling up required clear communication, consistent clinical excellence, and strategic planning. Overcoming these hurdles has strengthened the service and more than half the current team are trainees, supported by robust mentorship structures that ensure continued growth and sustainability.
The results speak for themselves. Patient satisfaction is consistently high, waiting times have decreased, and GP capacity has improved, allowing doctors to focus on more complex care. There’s also been a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions—contributing to a more efficient, resilient healthcare system.
The Angus Urgent Care Nursing Team exemplifies what modern, person-centred community nursing can achieve—combining compassion, evidence, and innovation to meet today’s healthcare challenges head-on, making them a shining example of how nursing can lead transformation in primary care.
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