A CITY walk-in centre will remain open during winter after plans to close it were temporarily shelved.

A crunch meeting of Southampton health chiefs agreed to ditch plans to shut Bitterne Walk-In-Centre for six months and postpone any public consultation on its future until after the 2015 General Election.

As reported by the Daily Echo, Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group, which governs GPs in the city, and Solent NHS Trust wanted to use the centres staff in GP surgeries and community schemes to reduce winter pressures on hospitals.

And the CCG Board of Governors voted to continue these pilot projects alongside the walk-in-service.

Director of system delivery Peter Horne said: "If we can find the funding and have staff available there is a real desire to continue with these pilot projects.

"And the walk-in-centre will remain open and we have to make sure that remains a robust service as a priority."

But he added centre staff were disappointed at the change in plan because they had helped develop the pilot projects.

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.