HEALTH chiefs have been invited to a public meeting in Minehead next week to defend a decision to temporarily close the town's minor injuries unit overnight.

Bryan Leaker, who runs The Parks Guest House and is a former West Somerset district councillor, will chair the meeting, which will be in the ballroom of the Hobby Horse next Tuesday, April 1, at 7pm.

Mr Leaker said he had organised the event to give medical workers, managers and residents the chance to have their say on the closure.

He has invited the Somerset Partnership and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group to send a representative.

Local GP surgeries will also be asked to attend, while residents are being urged to turn out in a show of support for their local minor injuries unit.

"If people really want to save the minor injuries unit then they really need to come to this meeting.

"If they don't come, that could be used as evidence by the Somerset Partnership to say that no-one is bothered about the unit being closed and I know that's not the case," Mr Leaker said.

The Free Press exclusively revealed earlier this month that the unit had been closed without any advanced public notice.

Health bosses blamed a shortage of trained staff for the closure, which could remain in force until August.

The unit is led by emergency nurse practitioners - specialists trained in advanced nursing skills who are able to independently assess, diagnose, investigate and treat a wide range of injuries.

But with vacancies for the highly qualified practitioners across Somerset remaining unfilled, the Somerset Clinical Partnership and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group decided to temporarily reduce opening hours at Minehead by shutting the unit's doors between 11pm and 7am.