HEALTH chiefs have warned there could be an exodus of staff at a city walk-in-centre - despite saving it from closing for at least six months.

Bosses at Bitterne Walk-In-Centre reversed plans to shut the service and postponed any public consultation over its future until after the 2015 General Election.

Whilst campaigners celebrated the move, health bosses now fear nurses who had been preparing to carry out more complex roles as part of new pilot projects to cope with the extra demand over winter will now quit their posts at the centre.

At a meeting of the Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group board of governors, bosses confirmed the walk-in centre would remain open until next year, but said they feared its skilled nurses could leave for more challenging jobs forcing the gaps to be plugged by expensive agency staff.

The CCG had planned to close the centre temporarily and use its 12 nurses in GP surgeries to relieve winter pressures and ensure patients could have same-day appointments.

Those pilot projects will continue alongside the Bitterne centre thanks in part to a £600,000 Government grant.

But Peter Horne, CCG director of system delivery, said more problems could arise because nurses were now considering their futures at the centre.

He told the meeting: “When I met them the feeling was tangible. They had been involved in developing the pilots and they were very clear that they were disappointed that we had this slight hiccup.”

Mr Horne added: “Now we have to make sure that this service we have in place remains stable and robust through winter. But our workforce may decide to make decisions on what they want to do and if they leave it could be that we are relying on agency staff who would cost more.”

Board member and former nurse Margaret Wheatcroft added: “Some of these highly qualified staff will become frustrated if they are not able to use their skills and when you look at the use of this centre you would question whether they are fulfilling their skills.

“They have to think of their own futures and there are other places that are crying out for people with these skills so there's a real risk they could leave.”

The decision to keep the centre open was expected after a city council health and overview scrutiny panel asked Solent and the CCG to defer the decision until next year at a meeting last month.

CCG chief executive John Richards said consultation could not happen before then because the issue would become politicised and there would not be “a fair debate”.

The CCG is also moving forward with a new campaign to encourage residents to use pharmacies and the NHS 111 phone line when seeking medical advice rather than going to a GP or the emergency department.