Ross Minor Injury Units is closed once again due to staff shortages at Hereford Hospital. The was temporarily closed on Monday, May 12th and is likely to remain closed for four weeks.

This will allow hospital bosses to boost the number of staff at Hereford County Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department enabling the Trust to continue to see and treat patients and care for the increased number of seriously ill patients requiring admission into hospital.

In recent months the Trust has recruited extensively to increase the number of frontline staff. While this has made a difference, not all the new recruits are in place yet. "We have to strike a balance between the number of permanent staff and the number of agency staff we have working in our departments and as a consequence we have made the decision to bring experienced and skilled staff from our MIUs to work at the County Hospital to maintain a safe and effective service for our patients," said Neil Doverty, the Trust's Chief Operating Officer, who added that the Trust is doing all it can to reopen the MIUs as soon as possible. The MIUs provides treatment for less serious injuries, such as sprains, cuts and grazes and are open Monday to Friday. Wye Valley NHS Trust reported very low levels of daily attendances at both Ross and Leominster MIUs. There are a number of other NHS services available to local residents including community pharmacies, GP surgeries, and Hereford's Walk-in-Centre on Belmont Road, Hereford, open from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week. For urgent medical help that is not life threatening the public can call NHS 111. 111 is also the easiest way to access the GP out-of-hours service. The A&E service remains available to anyone with a life threatening illness or injury. "We regret any inconvenience this temporary closure of our MIUs may cause. The safety of our patients is our priority and the decision to temporarily redeploy staff from the MIUs to the County Hospital was not taken lightly. "Alternative NHS services are available locally for people requiring advice or treatment for minor injuries or illness". Dr Andy Watts, Clinical Lead for Herefordshire CCG, said: "The temporary closure of the MIUs is frustrating, coming at a time when we are working with partners to develop plans so that local services are more sustainable and resilient in the future. "Wye Valley Trust has explained to us why they have considered this decision necessary and we look forward to reinstatement of services next month." Posters are being displayed at the Community Hospitals to direct the public to the other NHS facilities in Herefordshire as well as Hereford County Hospital's Accident and Emergency department where appropriate. Details are also published on the Trust's website http://www.wyevalley.nhs.uk">www.wyevalley.nhs.uk All of the Community Hospital's other services will continue to operate as usual.