Light at the end of tunnel as MIU will reopen in June Campaigners say ‘this will be a major relief for the Moorlands community’
A MINOR injuries unit set in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands is to reopen in June.
The unit – which is based at Leek Moorlands Hospital – has been closed since March 2020.
The announcement that the unit will be reopen comes after the Leek Health Campaign Group wrote to Neil Carr, chief executive of the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
In the letter, campaigner Chris Taylor said: “With the number of covid cases having fallen dramatically, will you now confirm to the Moorlands community that the MIU will reopen on June 26 – or earlier if possible?
“The urgent reopening of the MIU is of major importance for the Moorlands. The MIU has been closed for the last 12 months – forcing more than 1,000 sick and injured people every month to travel 10 miles to Haywood Hospital, Burslem. These are people suffering injuries and distress, anxiety and isolation – and significant inconvenience and cost.”
In reply, Mr Carr confirmed that the unit would reopen in June.
He said: “I attended Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s health overview and scrutiny panel in March where I made a commitment to re-open Leek’s Minor Injuries Unit in line with the government’s easing of lockdown restrictions.
“As I have stated previously, safety is paramount in any service, which is provided by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Along with health colleagues across the country, system health and social care colleagues and I have been closely reviewing the situation presented by the coronavirus pandemic over recent months.
“Following the roll out of the vaccination programme and people maintaining covid safety measures such as social distancing, masking wearing and regular testing. I am pleased that locally the picture is improving and nationally the roadmap out of lockdown is progressing.
“Therefore, as per my commitment at the council’s panel in March 2021, Leek’s Minor Injuries Unit will reopen in June 2021 in line with the easing of national restrictions. The operational team is now working to logistically ensure everything is in place to support a high quality and safe service and we are looking forward to welcoming local residents back to the facility.”
The news has been welcomed by members of the Leek Health Campaign Group.
Pam Wood, right, chairman of the group, who have been campaigning for the reopening of the unit, said: “We are delighted with the confirmation from the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust that the Leek Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) will reopen in June as hoped.
“This will be a major relief for the Moorlands community, and will save more than 1,000 sick and injured people every month having to travel 10 miles to Haywood Hospital, Burslem. We are expecting the facility will operate from 8am to 8pm, and include all previous services, with X-ray in operation during the whole of the opening hours.
“The MIU reopening is clear recognition of the need for locally based urgent care services to serve the Moorlands, with its very large population of some 100,000 people.
“We remain at risk of future pandemic threats. Our health providers and commissioners must show they’ve learnt the lessons, and embedded the learning in their planning and procedures. They must demonstrate they have taken measures to improve our resilience and flexibility to face future threats – and still be able to continue running key services.
“Early in the pandemic we saw new processes become adopted for everyday use, for example GP telephone consultation, and in this context we would welcome an assurance that out of hours GP appointments will continue to be available.
“We also saw pragmatic responses to the pandemic, such as the refitting of beds in Leek Moorlands hospital - to provide vitally important overspill covid bed-capacity. We are thankful however, that in the course of the pandemic these beds were not required to be used.
“We must embrace these responses and more. Covid-19 has forced us to reset our brief, it cannot be business as usual as we begin to plan our local integrated health and care services at Leek Moorlands Hospital.”