The review into the opening hours of the Ross Minor Injury Unit is unlikely to be affected by the news that the Wye Valley NHS Trust is to undergo a radical overhaul.

At a press conference on Monday, Derek Smith, interim chief executive of Wye Valley NHS Trust, announced that the Trust had launched discussions with interested parties to test the most appropriate options if the Trust could not achieve Foundation status, but said that the decision to review to the MIU hours was "very much in the hands" of the clinical commissioning group reviewing all urgent care services.

It is Government policy that NHS Trusts must achieve Foundation Trust status but one of those requirements is breaking even.

The Trust is now launching a consultation with staff over job losses in a bid to begin plugging a financial black hole of £9.5m in the current financial year.

Options currently on the table include the Wye Valley NHS Trust becoming the junior partner of a Trust that already has Foundation Trust status; going into partnership with a private sector organisation; and breaking up the Wye Valley Trust and dispersing its services to public and private sector providers.

The Wye Valley NHS Trust was formed in April 2011.

For the full story please see this week's Ross Gazette.