Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has visited the Minor Injuries Unit at the War Memorial Hospital in Crowborough to discuss its ongoing temporary closure with representatives of Friends of Crowborough Hospital.
The Minor Injuries Unit offers treatment for a range of conditions and drop-in assessment for residents of Crowborough and surrounding areas.
The temporary closure of the facility introduced last year aimed to address the unprecedented staffing challenges facing the NHS and enhance services at Uckfield MIU and Lewes Urgent Treatment Centre.
The clinical decision to close the MIU was then extended due to the unit’s inability to increase its capacity, and limited space on site.
However, the Friends of Crowborough claim that this is not correct as there is a large, good quality clinical space available to be utilised at the site, ensuring the MIU is ready to reopen and can therefore be Covid-secure.
The Friends of Crowborough Hospital is a volunteer-led and staffed charity which has been supporting the work of Crowborough Hospital for over 65 years.
Nusrat Ghani said: “The Crowborough MIU is a fantastic facility and a key service for the local community, helping to relieve the pressure on A&E departments in nearby hospitals. I have been continuously making representations to the Trust and campaigned for its full reopening and I will continue to do so.
"I’m pleased to have visited the site to see the clinical space available and I will be holding further meetings with local health authorities to address the issue and have the Unit reopened as soon as possible.”
A review of the closure is due in February 2022.
The original article is available here.
