'Coronation' to lose minor injuries unit

Hospital owner Airedale Primary Care Trust (PCT) has announced it is not cost-effective to provide full-time nurses at the Ilkley hospital, after recently taking over its staffing arrangements.

The PCT says the closure comes as part of a two-year review of services across its catchment area, as announced during its consultation on Wharfedale health services last year.

The Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) treats patients with minor injuries between 8am and 4pm on weekdays, with medical cover from Wharfedale GPs and nurses provided by the PCT. It will officially close on Saturday and its services are expected to be taken on by local doctors' surgeries.

The PCT took over the staffing of the MIU from Airedale NHS Trust early in August, but said all that was being changed was the management of the service.

The director of corporate development, David Riley, said this week: "We have reviewed the number of appointments and type of injuries over the past two months received at the unit, from August 1 until the end of September, and the majority of them are better-suited to being treated by either GPs or nurses in their surgeries."

Under the new national General Medical Service (GMS) contracts, GPs are paid for carrying out some of the 'less complicated' procedures which have previously been treated at Minor Injuries, says the PCT.

Mr Riley said that during the PCT's management of the unit, it found that only a small number of patients had been seen, ranging from just two a day to a maximum of 11 on one day.

"Some of the medical complaints were simply inappropriate for the unit, for example, one patient was treated for a wasp sting," said Mr Riley. "It is simply not cost effective for us to provide full-time nurse cover for this unit."

The Coronation Hospital lost two gynaecology clinics earlier this year, one of them as the result of changing national regulations on the level of cover needed in Airedale General Hospital's maternity department.

However, those backing the drive for the hospital's replacement Health Care Centre have been keeping a close eye on the services still based at the Coronation.

The PCT says the ongoing review is to make sure that services are delivered to patients in the most appropriate way and location.

In future, it says, Ilkley patients will first go to their local GP for assessment, and if they cannot be treated at the practice, will be referred to the Wharfedale Hospital, which has its own Minor Injuries department, or the Airedale General Hospital.

During last year's public consultation on the future of the Coronation Hospital and its services, the PCT suggested that £30,000 could be saved by re-providing the MIU in the Springs Medical Centre, but also proposed that a nurse practitioner would lead the service, and that new funding could be attracted through a Personal Medical Services pilot scheme.

The leader of the Coronation Hospital campaign group in Ilkley, parish councillor Mike Gibbons, says the move of the services to local doctors was not unexpected. His concern continues to be the hold-up in the rebuilding of the hospital.

"All along we were likely to see changes to the way Minor Injuries was operated locally and it comes as no surprise that this element of the services provided at the Coronation is to be provided by the Springs Medical Centre GPs," he said.

"Future negotiations are ongoing and it's still my belief that the PCT will implement the rebuilding, and this should now happen as soon as possible. My great concern at the moment is the unresolved issue of the covenant on the property and the difficulty being experienced resolving this problem."

However, Councillor Gibbons is still adamant that the Coronation's X-ray unit must be kept.

Mr Riley is expected to speak at the next Ilkley Parish Council meeting, which is on Monday.