THE Minor Injury and Illness Unit (MIIU) at The Dilke Memorial Hospital will remain closed for “a further period” while social distancing measures remain in place in healthcare settings, the NHS says.

The MIIU at the Dilke has been closed since before the pandemic, and local NHS leaders say it will remain that way for the foreseeable future “due to the restrictive space and environment” inside the hospital.

The announcement was made last Tuesday (March 8) as part of a joint statement on temporary service changes from county NHS partnership One Gloucestershire.

The Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust says that should distancing measures be relaxed in healthcare settings, the NHS will review the timeframe in line with future guidance.

The partners want to highlight the benefits brought by the recent introduction of a dedicated MIIU triage telephone service, which can provide advice and book appointments at the county’s MIIUs.

Other service changes include keeping the Hyper Acute Stroke Unit at Cheltenham General Hospital until March 2023, and High Care Respiratory Services at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for another year to ensure they are able to respond to any further waves of Covid-19.

Clinical Chair of NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Dr Andy Seymour said: “We fully support these plans which represent a pragmatic and carefully considered response at this challenging time for local services.

“As with all the temporary changes implemented over the last two years, service resilience, quality of care and health outcomes have been the guiding principles behind them.”

Medical Director at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Prof. Mark Pietroni said: “Our challenge is to ensure that we balance the need to deliver the very best care in the short term as we emerge from the pandemic, whilst at the same time work with local people and communities to consider where more permanent changes could add real benefits over the longer term.

“In terms of the temporary changes, we are not yet out of the woods in terms of the pandemic and other pressures and we feel they are both necessary and proportionate at this time.”

Medical Director at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Amjad Uppal said:

“There has been a collective will across One Gloucestershire NHS partners to work together to make the right decisions at the right time when it comes to temporary service changes. We continue to consider a range of factors including safety and staffing, health outcomes and access to services.”