The Wye Valley NHS Trust closed the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Ross Community Hospital on Monday, January 6th, as a 'temporary measure' to ease the pressures faced by the?Trust at Hereford Hospital.

Wye Valley NHS Trust said the closure would be "for a brief period", in order to "boost the resources at Hereford County Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department".

All of the Community Hospital's other services will continue to operate as usual.

Posters are being displayed at the Hospital to direct the public to the other NHS facilities in Herefordshire as well as Hereford County Hospital's Accident and Emergency department where appropriate.

Derek Smith, Chief Executive at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this temporary closure may cause and we will re-open the Minor Injury Units as soon as possible.

"We would also like to reassure the public the safety of our patients is our priority and the decision to temporarily redeploy staff from the MIUs to the County Hospital's A&E department was not taken lightly. Alternative NHS services are available locally for people requiring advice or treatment for minor injuries or illness".

The MIUs provides treatment for less serious injuries, such as sprains, cuts and grazes and are usually open Monday to Friday.

There are a number of other NHS services available to local residents including community pharmacies, GP surgeries, and Asda Walk-in-Centre, 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.

Details are also published on the Trust's website http://www.wyevalley.nhs.uk">www.wyevalley.nhs.uk