Minor Injury Unit to stay open for 12 hours a day

HEATH bosses have decided the future of Llanelli’s Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Prince Philip Hospital.

- IAN LEWIS

The unit will become an urgent care centre, continuing to operate for 12 hours a day, between 8am to 8pm, but incorporating a broader range of treatments that people currently see their GP or pharmacist for.

This means the existing MIU and Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) services will be brought together into a single, integrated centre. It will allow patients to walk in and be assessed, diagnosed, and treated for a wider range of urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, including minor injuries, minor illnesses and urgent medical needs that do not require an overnight hospital stay.

The new model would cost almost £1m a year more to run, but health chiefs said it is hoped this will take pressure of GP surgeries in the community and emergency departments at other hospitals.

The unit will also have the aim of recruiting 14 more staff over the next six to 12 months, some of which would come from the existing hospital workforce thanks to the merging of the MIU and SDEC.

Hywel Dda’s executive medical director, Mark Henwood said at a meeting of the health board on Thursday that more capital investment is needed to achieve the chosen route for the MIU.

Figures presented in a report to the health board show the current 12 hour model, is costing the health board £2.5m a year, while the new option going forward is forecasted at £3.2m a year.

The board meeting also heard from Mr Henwood that returning to a 24-hours-a-day model is unlikely to happen in the future, due to the health board’s struggles to recruit staff.

The MIU has been operating under temporary opening hours of 8am to 8pm daily since last November, due to staffing challenges and to ensure patient and staff safety. This was in response to concerns about patient safety and staff well being following a report by Health Inspectorate Wales in the summer of 2023.