GP service for minor injuries now open two years after unit closure
PEOPLE IN a Yorkshire coastal town will be asked to ring their GP practice for advice on minor injuries in a bid to improve services nearly two years after a walkin unit controversially closed.
Residents in Withernsea have complained of being told by NHS 111 call handlers to travel up to 50 miles to Grimsby for treatment – despite it being on the other side of the Humber estuary – as it is the closest as the crow flies.
From Monday, residents can ring Holderness Health and there will be an option to speak to an urgent care practitioner, for advice online or over the telephone.
They will be able to see the patient in Withernsea later the same day, unless it is more serious. However, the service will only operate Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm, and will not include Bank Holidays.
Town councillor Brian Cloke cautiously welcomed the change, saying: “Anything is an improvement on the appalling situation we’ve had for the last two years.”
The service replaces the ap-pointmentonly “eight- to- eight” centre, set up by the East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group ( CCG), following the closure of the minor injuries unit at Withernsea Hospital in 2018.
Residents were supposed to be able to book an appointment for cuts, sprains, burns and bites, but some were sent to Grimsby and Hull, with call handlers seemingly unaware of its existence.
Coun Cloke said: “It remains to be seen if this ( latest scheme) works – I hope it does. In a way, it’s good that the GP side has got involved to try and make life easier for patients.”
MP Graham Stuart said it was clear from the outset that the eight to eight service was not working. He hopes the new approach makes a “significant difference” to local people.
He said: “You can’t have a service that puts people through the rigmarole of answering question after question only to be told the same thing every time – get yourself to Beverley, Hull or Bridlington to be seen there.
“It’s all very well and good for people with cars, but many in Withernsea need treatment on their doorstep.”
East Riding councillor Lyn Healing wants to hear from anyone with their experiences of the service – good or bad – in the coming weeks.
She said: “I really welcome this change to introduce a local assessment by clinicians who will know the area and, in many cases, the patients themselves.”
Emma Latimer, who joined the CCG as the new accountable officer in November last year, said she had listened carefully to concerns and was delighted to trial a “new and improved” service.
People who need to travel to an urgent care treatment centre and have no other means of getting there will be offered a free taxi service. Podiatry and district nursing will continue to operate out of the hospital.
Many in Withernsea need treatment on their doorstep. Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness.