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St Albans Minor Injuries Unit remains closed as part of ongoing COVID-19 response

Posted: 29 May 2020

Picture of St Albans City Hospital

The Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at St Albans City Hospital will continue to remain closed as part of West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The MIU closed as a temporary measure on Friday 3 April.

The clinical needs of current patients remain high and the trust has redeployed a large number of staff to support patients including those needing critical care. The trust and Herts Valleys CCG will review the MIU’s closure at the end of June.

Both organisations are also working closely together on plans for a safe resumption of some services including urgent care services. Services need to be restarted in a safe and controlled way that takes into account social distancing requirements and the availability of an appropriately protected workforce.

Patients are advised to visit NHS111 for advice on where to go for their symptoms. Those needing help with minor injuries can attend the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Hemel Hempstead Hospital. The UTC is open from 8am until 10pm and can treat a wide range of non-emergency illnesses and injuries.

Patients can also call their GP practice for healthcare advice and support. GPs can still see patients face-to-face if there is a medical reason to do so but this will be determined by telephone triage or video consultation first.

Patients who have sustained serious injuries and/or are suffering blood loss or a serious deterioration should call 999. No one with COVID-19 symptoms should attend any medical setting unless explicitly directed by the NHS 111 service or the 999 call operator.

Ends

For more information, please contact the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust* communications team on 01923 436280 or email westherts.communications@nhs.net (for out of hours media enquiries please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager) or the Herts Valleys CCG communications team on 01442 898888 or email communications.hvccg@nhs.net.

* West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.

For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter (twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).