A DECISION has been made to close the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) in Minehead overnight.

The trust board of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust made the decision to close the unit at Minehead Community Hospital because of 'concerns about the safety of the overnight service'.

They have said the service does not meet the 'overnight urgent care needs' of the people in Minehead and surrounding areas.

The MIU was temporarily closed overnight until April 1 and it will not now re-open overnight.

Minehead's MIU has been temporarily closed since July 2021, and the closure was due to last four months.

However, this was extended for a further six months so health bosses could come up with plans to improve acute health services in West Somerset.

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Dr Dan Meron, chief medical officer for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We first closed the Minehead MIU temporarily overnight from July 1 2021 because we had concerns about the safety of the overnight service – and those concerns remain.

“The Trust Board has taken the difficult decision to permanently reduce the hours of the MIU in Minehead because of those concerns and because the overnight service does not meet the needs of the local population.

"However, we have heard what local people have told us about access to urgent care services overnight and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group is leading work to look at how the local NHS can meet this need in a safe and sustainable way.”

The MIU service that is open during core hours from 8am until 9pm seven days a week, 365 days a year, will remain and there are no plans to change it.

The MIU in Minehead was the only MIU in Somerset that was open overnight.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has said that during core hours the Minehead MIU is 'well used' and provides a 'full clinical service led by emergency nurse practitioners and supported by other clinicians such as specialist physiotherapists and paramedic practitioners'.

Dr Dan Meron said: “The overnight service was different. It saw on average less than one patient (0.9) a night and was staffed by one paramedic and one healthcare assistant. The overnight paramedic primarily acted as a care navigator and did not assess, treat and discharge patients independently.

"This meant that patients attending the Minehead MIU overnight received appropriate first aid if needed and were advised to either return for a detailed assessment and treatment the following day or were referred to the Emergency Department at Musgrove Park Hospital.

“This is not an optimal experience for our patients and we are concerned about the safety of this service. It can have serious consequences for patients if treatment for conditions like heart attacks, strokes, major trauma, asthma, sepsis and wounds is delayed.”

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust monitored the impact of the overnight closure on other health services in Somerset.

It found no discernible impact on overnight attendances at Musgrove Park Hospital’s Emergency Department, and overnight trips to the Emergency Department from Minehead postcodes; no impact on NHS 111 or the out of hours GP service in the Minehead area; and no discernible impact in attendances at Minehead MIU in the hour prior to closure or the first hour of the unit’s opening times while the overnight service has been closed.

Dr Iain Chorlton, associate clinical director of urgent and emergency care, Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group, added: "We have listened to the concerns people have around suitable access to appropriate urgent and emergency care services in the area and appreciate that this announcement may cause concern.

"It is important that we understand the urgent and emergency needs of the local population, to create services which are both safe and sustainable. We would like to reassure local people that we are working closely with NHS partners across Somerset to understand how best to achieve this ambition."