New closing time for MIU at Cromer Hospital

The Minor Injuries Unit at Cromer and District Hospital is to close at 8pm from Monday 4 September following a consultation with local residents.

The unit is currently open seven days a week from 8am to 10pm but will in future close two hours earlier. It will continue to be open from 8am every day of the year, including Christmas and New Year.

A recent audit showed that very few patients use the MIU between the hours of 8pm and 10pm. Over a twelve month period (April 2005 to March 2006) an average of just over one person per night used the service during those two hours (449 people over the course of the year divided by 365 days = 1.2 people between 8pm and 10pm). It was also found that all of these patients had developed their health problem much earlier.

The change will not lead to any reductions in MIU staffing and will have the added benefit of ensuring there are more nurses available (three nurses instead of two) at the busiest times of day, i.e. in the morning and around lunchtime. This should lead to even shorter waiting times for MIU patients.

During the consultation, only two objections to the proposal were received, two were supportive and one proposed opening hours of 9am to 9pm. An internet poll on the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital website showed that 81 per cent of respondents were in favour of the new arrangements.