THE minor injuries unit at Tavistock Hospital will reopen on Monday, January 27 2020, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has confirmed.

The opening times for the MIU unit will be Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm initially, whilst the new team continues to grow and re-establish the service, with an intention to return to a seven -day service later in the year, the trust said on its website.

The unit was closed temporarily in August due to a staffing shortage that could not be overcome in the short term.

Caroline Dawe, care group manager for medicine said: ‘Working as a nurse practitioner in a small unit requires a very specific skillset due to the need to work independently as a sole provider. This presents a complexity in recruiting the right senior nursing staff as the roles requires a very specific level of expertise.

‘Our plan has been to recruit nurse practitioners and embed them initially within our other MIUs. This allows them to obtain the more specialist training required for running a unit independently and will help to make the service more sustainable in the longer term.’

Colleagues in the local GP practices and Devon CCG have been instrumental in supporting a local service for the interim period and will continue to do so until the unit reopens. Until then patients who would normally use Tavistock Hospital Minor Injuries Unit can continue to use minor injuries units in Launceston, Liskeard, Okehampton or Plymouth (Cumberland Centre). 

Arrangements are in place with the following GP practices, if you are registered with the practice. The practice may be able to offer a limited alternative minor injury services — Abbey, Tavyside, Yelverton 

and Okehampton (open to all, including non-registered patients)

If anyone has any queries, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 01752 439884.