Long-term plan for emergency care in Minehead under review

The overnight closure of the Minor Injury Unit has been extended to May

Emergency care in and around Minehead is to have a major shake-up following the overnight closure of the town's Minor Injury Unit (MIU).

The Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has confirmed that a final decision on acute health services will be taken in May 2022.

The MIU has been closed since July amid safety concerns.

The CCG is looking at a long-term plan to include better transport for elderly people needing urgent care.

The overnight closure of the MIU between 21:00 - 08:00 GMT was originally due to last four months, but was extended for a further six months in November to allow health bosses to come up with far-reaching plans to improve acute health services in the West Somerset area.

• Overnight hospital unit to shut over safety fears

• Hospital's overnight injury unit closure extended

The issue of emergency health care provision was discussed at a meeting of Somerset County Council's Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday.

The review found the MIU was acting as a "safety net" for local patients, in light of both the lengthy journey to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and the long waits for ambulances, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Somerset CCG said: "There have been three examples over the last three years where patient outcomes have been compromised because the patients attended the overnight MIU rather than going to A&E at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton."

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust voted in November to extend the overnight closure by a further six months, giving the CCG and other health partners until 1 May to come up with a long-term plan.

"We are working to agree on a model of care for the West Somerset area which best responds to the urgent and emergency care needs of the area."

Councillor Mandy Chilcott, who represents Minehead, said: "I have people who are very concerned about health provision locally - it's letting us down, whether it's ambulances, GPs or the MIU. It's not working.

"Many people have no transport and there's no public transport past 6pm - so there's no way they can get to Taunton.

"We need to work with health locally to find an innovative solution which can work locally. If you can work something out here, you can roll it out elsewhere."

The new model of care could be implemented across the county in the next 18 months if it proves successful.

The Trust has stated that no further closures of any of Somerset's minor injury units are planned.