News

Trowbridge Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) will be temporarily closed from Monday 18 January as frontline clinical staff are redeployed to care for the rising number of patients requiring treatment for Covid-19.

Trowbridge MIU will be temporarily closed to patients booking appointments through NHS 111, but will keep some services open including dressings clinics.

Chippenham MIU will remain open from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week and will
continue to see patients who have contacted NHS 111 either by phone or online and are referred for an MIU appointment.

The closure has been introduced on a strictly temporary basis so staff can be redeployed to provide care where it is needed most. It will be monitored with a view to reopening the unit as soon as it is feasibly possible and safe to do so.

Patients with minor injuries should visit the NHS 111 online or telephone service. This will provide advice on where to go for the best care for their symptoms.

Patients wishing to book an appointment at Chippenham MIU will need to contact NHS 111 who will triage all appointments and, if a patient meets the criteria, they will be referred to the unit and a member of staff will call them back to arrange an appointment.

Those patients who feel they need a GP appointment should call their local GP practice and are likely to be offered a phone or video consultation in the first instance, unless a face-to-face appointment is absolutely necessary.

No-one with Covid-19 symptoms should attend any medical setting unless explicitly directed to do by the NHS 111 service or a 999 call operator.

Of course, if you feel your symptoms genuinely require emergency treatment, you should always seek help from your nearest hospital.

Douglas Blair, Managing Director of Wiltshire Health and Care, which runs the MIUs in Chippenham and Trowbridge, said: “It has become necessary to temporarily close Trowbridge MIU to NHS 111 appointments from Monday 18 January 2021, so we can release frontline clinical staff to provide care where it is needed most. Patient safety is at the heart of our service delivery and we will continue to review the situation with a view to re-opening as soon as possible. Chippenham MIU will remain open 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.”

Thank you for your continued support.