Covid-19: Worcestershire MIU staff redeployed due to soaring demand

Three minor injury units (MIUs) are to close until the end of February as staff are redeployed to hospitals.

Community hospitals in Worcestershire are "experiencing higher than normal demands", the local NHS trust said, and require more staff.

The affected MIUs, which treat patients with non-life-threatening conditions, are in Malvern, Evesham and Tenbury Wells.

Services will still be available in Kidderminster and Bromsgrove hospitals.

"It is important that we use our staff in the areas they are needed most at the moment," Phil Shakeshaft, MIU Lead for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said.

"MIU staff are trained and qualified nurses and they will be able to use their skills within our community hospitals caring for poorlier patients so they can recover and return home as soon as possible."

A spokesperson from the trust said the increased demand for healthcare workers was a "combination" of Covid-19 and other factors.

Latest figures from Public Health England show there were 376 new infections per 100,000 people in Worcestershire for the week up to and including 7 January - a 33% rise on the previous week.

Community hospitals, where staff are being deployed, support people who are coming out of an acute hospital but are not quite well enough to be at home, the trust said.

The closures, which last from midnight until the end of next month, are expected to be regularly reviewed.

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