Original by Allan George, North Wales Pioneer - http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/16375870.call-for-doctors-at-ll…
(Photo - Llandudno MIU by the North Wales Pioneer)
A CALL for a doctor to lead Llandudno’s minor injuries unit has been rejected by Betsi Cadwaladr health board.
The call was made in an exchange of letters between AM Janet Finch-Saunders and Gary Doherty, chief executive of the board. She said when the unit was built assurances were given there would always be a doctor or consultant on hand.
She said: “The people of Llandudno have been misled. When the A and E department at Llandudno Hospital was downgraded into a minor injuries unit we were promised it would be consultant led.
“The minor injuries unit cost a lot of money when it was built. In all the plans there was to have been a doctor present all the time. If you look at the area the unit services you can see it could take a lot of pressure of Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. There is no justification for a doctor not being there.”
Mrs Finch-Saunders added: “The biggest worry is they are sending people from the unit to with Ysbyty Gwynedd or Ysbyty Glan Clwyd which causes delay to their treatment because there is not a doctor present there.
“I wrote to the chief executive of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board calling for a doctor to be reintroduced to the minor injuries unit. He made no commitment to reintroducing a doctor and I’m disappointed at his response.”
Mr Doherty said in his letter to Mrs Finch-Saunders the unit employs an associate specialist from Ysbyty Gwynedd for one day each week. “This doctor is still in post and works in the unit providing medical cover.”
He added the reduction in medical cover, whilst regrettable, brought the unit in line with the service model in the other minor injury units in North Wales, which are staffed with emergency nurse practitioners. He said: “These nurses are very skilled, able to assess, diagnose and treat a wide range of illnesses.”
“All minor injuries units, whether staffed by emergency nurse practitioners, or by medical staff, need to advise some patients to go a district general hospital (Ysbyty Gwynedd or Ysbyty Glan Clwyd). This is when their injury is too serious to be managed within the minor injuries unit, for example a serious fracture or an injury which need more complex imaging, for example a CT scan.”
Mr Doherty added: “In the seven months, from November 2017 to May 2018, 993 patients were directed to a district general hospital, compared to 826 patients in the same period in 2016/17, this is five to six patients per week on average.”