No reopening date yet for walk-in unit
Maidenhead: St Mark’s facility closed temporarily in 2020
There is no news yet on the St Mark’s Hospital minor injury unit in Maidenhead – and when it will reopen.
The minor injury and illness unit at St Mark’s closed temporarily in April 2020.
Several members of NHS staff were redeployed to temporary roles forming part of the response to the COVID-19 crisis.
In October last year, East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (which merged with other services into Frimley CCG in April 2021) said the permanent closure of the unit was ‘not being considered’.
The last update on St Marks was in January of this year.
Clarity over the temporary closure was requested by the Maidenhead Lib Dems, which said ‘we need a date’ for reopening from the CCG.
A spokesman for Frimley said at the time that surges in COVID cases in January had caused challenges in workforce availability, meaning the unit would remain shut for now.
The minor injuries walk-in centre at Upton Hospital in Slough also closed at the same time as St Mark’s – April 2020.
There were pleas to reopen it in October last year, but so far it also remains shut.
The Advertiser requested an update on the status of both units on Monday.
A spokesperson for Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System said: “In Maidenhead there is currently a GP–led same-day service catering to the local population, with capacity to treat more people than the urgent care service which was suspended at the height of the pandemic.
“People can make on-the-day appointments with the service by contacting their GP practice.
“In Slough, urgent same-day appointments are available on a limited basis to residents through their own GP practices.
“Residents of both Maidenhead and Slough can also visit the urgent care centre at Brants Bridge, in Bracknell,
from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. More information is available here: onemedicalgroup.co.uk/surgeries/bracknell-urgent-care-centre
“Residents can also contact 111, online or by phone at any time for advice and support with urgent health concerns.
“We are continuing to work with our partners to explore how we can develop and improve services for all of our residents.”