Somerset minor injuries units reduce opening hours amid staff shortages

Minor injuries units in Burnham-on-Sea, Chard and Shepton Mallet have changed their opening hours for the next six months

Minor injuries units (MIU) in Somerset have reduced their opening hours due to a shortage of senior emergency nurses.

Units in Burnham-on-Sea, Chard and Shepton Mallet have changed their opening hours for the next six months.

Ten out of 30 posts for emergency nurses have been vacant since September.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said the change in hours was necessary to "provide greater consistency in services for local communities".

Burnham-on-Sea will now open Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 18:00.

Chard will open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday between 08:00 and 21:00.

Shepton Mallet will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 08:00 and 16:00.

Dr Matthew Hayman, deputy chief medical officer at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: "A combination of staff sickness, relocation, retirement, maternity leave and taking up jobs elsewhere in the NHS means that 10 of our 30 posts for the most senior clinicians within our MIUs have been vacant since the end of September."

Bernie Marden, chief medical officer at NHS Somerset, added the trust recognised the action "may have an impact on some patients".

"It is vital that healthcare services in our communities not only have safe and appropriate staffing levels, but also can provide consistent access to ensure patients can be cared for and treated accordingly," he said.

"The situation will be reviewed on a monthly basis during this time, and it is hoped that the workforce position will improve by Spring 2023 - as a result of further recruitment, newly qualifying ENPs and colleagues returning to work from maternity leave."

Other MIUs at Bridgwater, Frome, Minehead and Glastonbury plan to operate as normal, seven days a week between 08:00 and 21:00.

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