Stroud Minor Injuries Unit – petition to save service from full overnight closure reaches 400 signatures

Some 150 residents and campaigners have signed the online petition, while another 250 have signed the paper copy.

The Stroud Labour Party, who organised the appeal, are urging all those to value to 24-hour service to sign it at goo.gl/4G4ihL

It comes after a review into the opening hours of the unit in Trinity Road all but ensured it would close overnight for good.

Residents have been given three official options on how they would like the centre to look in the future – with not one that would see Stroud’s MIU remain open 24 hours a day.

The first option in the review involves changing all seven of the county’s MIUs’ opening hours to 8am-8pm, while option two and three would see Stroud MIU close from 11pm to 8am.

NHS bosses say the changes are necessary as the current model of overnight care is underused and economically unsustainable.

But the overhaul has been met with opposition in the community from campaign groups, patients and councillors who are angry there is not a fourth option that will allow the unit to stay open all night.

A series of drop-in events at Holy Trinity Church have been held over the last few weeks.

All the information on the changes will be available in King Street, Stroud, on Monday August 22 from 10am-11.30am.

The petition says: “We note with dismay the proposed plan for overnight closure of the Minor Injuries Unit at Stroud Hospital which provides urgent out of hours care,” it says.

“We further deplore NHS staffing shortages, which the current government is failing to address, that are resulting in unplanned overnight closures.

“We ask that Gloucestershire Care Services and the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group ensure that a 24 hour local urgent care service is provided at the Minor Injuries Unit at Stroud Hospital in order to meet local need, avoid long waits and reduce pressure on Emergency Departments."

Accountable officer at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Mary Hutton, said: “The rationale for these proposals, including safety, staffing and usage has been set out by Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust.

“With the engagement period now underway, we would encourage healthcare professionals, community partners, patients and the public to consider each of the interim options put forward by the Trust and to feedback their views by August 31.

“Any final decisions will need to take in to account work underway looking at the future shape of urgent care services across the county.”       

Stroud General’s unit is currently one of just two in the county which stays open all night. The other is in Cirencester Hospital, which is 12 miles drive away.