Insufficient staff to blame for doors to Doddington Minor Injuries Unit remaining closed
A lack of staff is being blamed for the ongoing closure of a Fenland emergency health service it has been revealed this week.
The Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Doddington Hospital closed on April 6 with Jan Thomas, accountable officer at NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), explaining at the time the move was to enable the experienced staff to be redeployed to provide vital additional capacity elsewhere in the local community.
She also claimed that far lower numbers of patients had been attending the MIUs in Fenland, which she said meant "we have the capacity to better use our resources in response to the COVID-19 outbreak”.
The Wisbech MIU based at the North Cambs Hospital also closed on April 6. However, with the easing of lockdown the Wisbech unit reopened its doors back in August, with the promise that Doddington would be re-opening shortly.
However, following a request from the Citizen for an update on when Doddington might re-open the CCG have this week confirmed there is still no date in sight
Instead a spokesman has said insufficient staffing is to blame but re-emphasised the closure is still only "temporary".
She said: "“Doddington MIU remains temporarily closed, but we are working alongside our partners to recruit the additional staff required to ensure we can reopen and provide a safe service for both our patients and staff that is in line with current COVID-19 guidelines. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
“The Ely and Wisbech MIUs and the Peterborough Urgent Treatment Centre are open. Information on their opening hours can be found at www.cambridgeshireandpeterboroughccg.nhs.uk/your-health-and-services/minor-injury-units-and-urgent-treatment-centres/.
