NHS apologises for 'communication failure' over Cornwall hospital closure
The NHS has apologised again for a "communication failure" which saw a Cornwall hospital unit closed without any warning or explanation.
Launceston Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) shut on 25 July due to staff shortages, but the public were not informed.
The Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) failed to announce the closure, meaning patients, politicians and some practitioners were unaware. This caused members of the public to be sent to the MIU, only to find it shut.
The unexpected closure caused shock in the local community, and a petition was launched to have the MIU reopen.
The NHS Trust apologised at the time for not announcing the closure, and has now reiterated the apology again at a scrutiny meeting yesterday, 6 October.
Speaking before Cornwall Council's health and adult social care overview committee, the CPFT said that it had a “communication failure” and said they “sincerely apologise” for the error.
The committee heard the decision to close the unit temporarily was to ensure that sufficient staff could be trained so that the unit could open on a permanent basis.
Staff from CPFT explained they did not want a “stopping and starting” service as it might mean that people would not know where to go or what services are available.
'Our network of MIUs have supported our emergency services'
At the meeting, the CPFT also confirmed Launceston MIU reopened on 1 October as planned and said it is committed to providing MIU care to all of Cornwall.
The trust is responsible for 10 MIUs in Cornwall in Bodmin, Camborne and Redruth, Falmouth, Launceston, Liskeard, Helston, Isles of Scilly, Newquay, St Austell and Stratton.
Most of these facilities are run by nurses with specialist training and the majority of MIUs have access to X-ray facilities.
At the committee meeting, CPFT also revealed it will be investing £400,000 at Launceston Hospital to provide a new X-ray machine and building works for the machine.
The trust said MIUs play an important role in taking some of the demand and pressure off emergency departments, and this was especially the case during the busy times this summer.
The CPFT representative said: “At the start of this week, we had our emergency department in the best position it has been in for some time and we are really pleased that our network of MIUs has been able to support our emergency services.”
The committee heard that recruiting and retaining staff was still a challenge but that work was being done to address this to ensure that there are sufficient staff coming through the system.
Credit: Richard Whitehouse, Local Democracy Reporting Service