MP takes urgent treatment centre closures concern to Minister after Free Press report

WEST Somerset MP Rachel Gilmour has taken up the case of specialist staff shortages forcing sudden closures of Minehead Hospital’s minor injuries unit, eight weeks after the Free Press reported the issue.

Mrs Gilmour wrote to Heath Secretary Yvette Cooper to express concern about the continued short-notice closures of the unit, nowadays called an urgent treatment centre (UTC).

The Free Press reported in early August how Somerset NHS Foundation Trust did not have enough emergency nurse practitioners (ENPs) to staff the facility.

The trust was suffering the same shortage with its five other UTCs in Bridgwater, Frome, West Mendip, Chard, and Shepton Mallet, and also its minor injuries unit in Burnham on Sea.

It said almost one in four of its ENP roles were vacant despite efforts to recruitment more.

Now, Mrs Gilmour has asked Ms Cooper what the Government was doing to fill UTC staffing gaps so Minehead and other communities could continue to rely on urgent care.

She said she recognised the workforce challenges facing the NHS, but the closures were undermining people’s confidence in having reliable access to medical services, and the pattern of closures was adding pressure to neighbouring services.

Mrs Gilmour said: “Residents in Minehead need access to their urgent treatment centre.

“Constituents deserve the confidence to know that if they need treatment, their local NHS services will be open.

“This would not be accepted in a big city, so it will not be accepted here in a rural and coastal community.

“Many constituents do not have the luxury of being able to travel to Taunton.

“They need this service on their doorstep.

“We need answers from the Government on what they are doing to prevent closures in the future.”

Mrs Gilmour asked for statistics on how often Minehead UTC had closed in the past three years and how it affected neighbouring services.