Weekday operating hours will be temporarily shortened at the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre starting next week.

A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board said that the St David’s medical facility would be open from 6pm to 10pm, instead of 4pm to midnight, beginning on Monday.

The reduced weekday hour will be in place until the end of January.

The spokeswoman said that x-ray services would not be available during the week for the same period. She added: “Weekend hours will remain unchanged during this time and the UCC will operate as usual with an x-ray service from midday to midnight.”

The spokeswoman said that the reduced weekday hours “allow more staff to be present in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Emergency Department helping keep wait times down for a larger group of patients”.

Chikezie Okereke, the chief of emergency, said: “We are planning for a busy winter period when flu and respiratory illnesses bring more people to the Emergency Department.

“Our focus is to prioritise the ED service during this time, where clinical need is greatest. This will help keep the ED wait times down and ensure patients with the most pressing medical needs are attended to in a timely manner.

“Our hope is that the shorter weekday hours at the UCC will free enough staff to manage high demand in the ED, although we will closely monitor the situation throughout to ensure the care needs of our community are met.”

Dr Okereke added that the UCC would be opened “in line with current practice” should the Causeway be closed for any reason.

He said that the reduced hours at UCC were “a proactive, temporary measure to better plan emergency care for the island over some of our busiest months”.

Dr Okereke added: “We thank East End residents for their understanding and we look forward to resuming normal operating hours in February.”