Call to reinstate community hospital services

Councillor Ed O'Driscoll, pictured at Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital, said there was still "huge affection" for the local MIU service

A campaign has begun to reopen minor injury units (MIUs) at two community hospitals amid A&E pressures at a main site.

Ross-on-Wye's Liberal Democrats protested in 2018 against MIU closure at the town's Community Hospital, with Leominster's MIU shutting at about the same time - with both moves initially a temporary measure.

Lib Dem Ed O'Driscoll is now asking councillors - including those on Herefordshire Council - to back the call to bring back the units.

Wye Valley Trust, which runs the sites, said it was "aware of the motion".

In January, fewer that two in three, 64%, of A&E patients at Hereford County Hospital were seen within four hours, according to NHS England.

Between November and February, a quarter of ambulances waited more than an hour to hand over patients to the department.

O'Driscoll's motion said that previously, Herefordshire's market town community hospitals offered "accessible and efficient urgent care to local residents, while reducing strain on the County Hospital".

There was still "huge affection" for the local service in Ross, as well as "support from senior medical staff" for his proposal to restart it, he added.

'No-brainer'

Ledbury Community Health Centre continues to provide an MIU service, and Bromyard Community Hospital never had such provision.

Lib Dem group leader in Ross-on-Wye Terry James said reopening the closed MIUs was "a no-brainer", adding: "I hope that all political parties on Herefordshire Council will join us in calling on the NHS to sort this out."

Jenny Bartlett, Green councillor for Leominster East in which the town's Community Hospital lies, said she was "pleased to see that there is now a motion".

An official inspection last year found demand for treatment from both walk-ins and ambulances at County Hospital was "huge and increasing", she added.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.