CORNWALL Council leader Adam Paynter and NHS Kernow’s chief officer, Jackie Pendleton have both strongly denied claims that the majority of minor injury units (MIUs) across the county could close in the near future.

There has been concern raised by members of the public who fear that the minor injury units at Launceston and Stratton could be affected.

Penzance doctor, Peter Levin, published a report (which can be viewed at http://spr4cornwall.net/) after reading NHS management reports stating that ten of the 14 MIUs, could be scrapped to create four big urgent care centres (UTCs) at Penzance, Camborne, Truro and Liskeard in a bid to make it less confusing for patients, more efficient and to take pressure off A&E departments.

Dr Levin said plans to scrap the minor injury units first surfaced in the Outline Business Case for the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), published in October 2016 when it was proposed ‘to replace the current minor injury units with a new model of strategically located urgent care centres’.

Dr Levin said that only the four town hospitals mentioned would meet NHS England’s criteria to provide enhanced, consistent and resilient clinical cover to meet the urgent care needs of all residents and visitors.

In response, Jackie Pendleton, NHS Kernow’s Chief Officer, speaking on behalf of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly health and care system, has accused Mr Levin of ‘scaremongering’, saying: “At a time when our urgent care system is under such pressure, we would expect to be able to rely on our local stakeholders and media partners to support us in encouraging the public to use services, like minor injury units, as an alternative to the emergency department.

“It is therefore really disappointing that Mr Levin has published a report that has so many factual inaccuracies and suggests to the public that their local minor injury unit is under threat of imminent closure. This is simply not true and this scaremongering could cause unnecessary confusion amongst the public at a time when we are encouraging people to use the right service.

“We strongly refute Mr Levin’s claims that we are pursuing a policy to close Cornwall’s MIUs and would like to reiterate the factual statements we have made previously:

l “NHS England has asked us to indicate which of our current health facilities were closest to the national specification for an urgent treatment centre and have the potential to be designated by March 2018. NHS England understand, and my briefing to Governing Body was explicit that the identification of these sites in no way pre-determines the decision about the number and location of future treatment sites in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We shared this information with the public, via our board papers, to ensure maximum transparency.

l “Absolutely no decisions have been made about the number and future locations of urgent treatment centres (formerly referred to nationally as urgent care centres) and any other community alternatives to the emergency department.

l “We have a statutory duty to consult with the public before making any decision about a significant change to the delivery of a service. We are still in the process of working with clinicians, stakeholders, and people who use services on the re-design of our urgent care system and we intend to begin the third round of co-production workshops next month.”

She continued: “Details of any consultation will be promoted via the press, our partners and online to ensure people are able to have their say. No decision will be made before this process has ended and the evidence collected during any consultation has been examined. We continue to encourage anyone who needs medical help to contact their own GP or pharmacy in the first instance; ensure anyone with a long-term condition, is pregnant or cares for someone has had their flu jab, and encourage friends and relatives to have theirs; continue to use our minor injury units and urgent care centre at West Cornwall Hospital, wherever possible instead of the emergency department; and phone NHS 111 when your GP surgery is closed and you need advice that can’t wait until it re-opens.

“We would like to thank everyone who is helping us by using the right service and keeping the emergency department free for life threatening emergencies.”

Cornwall Council leader and Liberal Democrat councillor for Launceston North and North Petherwin, Adam Paynter, also labelled the claims ‘a load of rubbish’, adding: “There is absolutely no substance to these reports, it’s someone trying to create an issue. There are four hospitals that meet national standards for urgent care centres because the NHS were required to name any hospitals or MIU units which would meet the criteria where other hospitals would have to make changes, but there are none which do in North Cornwall.

“Just because there’s those four that do, it doesn’t mean that the others can’t be. This is all to do with Labour and they’re not going to close, it’s absolute rubbish. We’ve been assured that Launceston and Stratton will stay open, there’s no reason for them to close. With the bed situation at Holsworthy at the moment, the facilities at Launceston and Stratton have become even more important to the local area. Both of them play a vital role in services in North Cornwall and they need to be maintained.”

Conservative MP for North Cornwall, Scott Mann, said: “NHS Kernow states it has no plans to close any minor injury units in Cornwall. Although the KCCG has responded to NHS England about which sites presently could be viable as urgent treatment centres, this does not mean that MIUs in North Cornwall won’t be considered.

“The people of North Cornwall can be confident that I want the whole of Cornwall to have an NHS which delivers high quality local services to everyone.”

Launceston Hospital League of Friends chairman, Pam Parnell, labelled it as ‘all just rumours’, adding: “I have spoken to the communications people. It’s not closing. They have just refurbished this hospital, just built a second MIU. We agreed over £7,000 of equipment for it last month. I think it is just rumours and rumours are being spread.

“At this time there is nothing to say [the minor injury unit] is going to close. As far as the League of Friends are concerned, they have just got a lovely new second treatment room in there, we have got on order equipment for that room and the other one.”