Local people influence future of Minor Injuries Units
Health commissioners listen to local people in plans to develop Local Urgent Care hubs in the Fens and East Cambridgeshire.
Last month, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) shared their ideas for the future of urgent care services in the Fens and East Cambridgeshire. This involves keeping and improving the care currently provided by the Minor Injuries Units in Ely, Doddington and Wisbech.
The proposals are to create three Local Urgent Care hubs by including other services on site. The CCG want to start with a plan to add GP expertise to the existing MIU Nurse Practitioner teams Monday to Friday, which will increase the number of patients and conditions which can be seen and treated locally.
They are currently finalising their business case for this. Subject to approval, they want to develop and test the first phase of the new urgent care model from spring 2017. The pilot phase will help inform their decisions around future commissioning.
Tracy Dowling, Chief Officer, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG said.
"The aim is to deliver more joined-up, effective, and efficient services that will integrate primary care (GPs), minor injury services, and community care for local residents.
We envisage that this will develop over time enabling more patients to choose local services instead of travelling to A&E departments when they do not need to."
What Healthwatch is doing
As a local Healthwatch, we will be making sure the CCG are listening to people's opinions and responding to their questions about any potential changes. As part of this, we have a place on the MIU steering group.
We know people are passionate about the future of their local hospitals and the services provided. There were lots of local worries last year when people thought there was the chance that one or more of the local MIUs may have to close.
We were pleased that the CCG went out and listened to local people as part of developing the Local Urgent Care hubs model.
We believe that it is essential to keep involving local people in development of the new hubs and the CCG have told us they will do this. We are hopeful that there is an opportunity here to develop an urgent care service that is better than before.
Help improve local services
Talk to us and help make your local NHS better for people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by sharing your views with Healthwatch.
Call 0330 355 1285
Text 0752 0635 176
