By Liz Fowler

NHS TAYSIDE has confirmed Montrose minor injury unit’s opening hours will not be cut, despite concerns from local residents.

Apart from over-usage at the weekends by drunken youths who have hurt themselves, there are often no patients at all attending the minor injury unit from the late hours through to early morning.

This has fuelled concern in the town that the unit is set to close at nights and weekends.

On behalf of worried residents, Montrose Community Council registered concern with the NHS Tayside complaints and advice team.

Despite the generally low usage from 10 pm to 8 am, however, the health authority has denied any plans to restrict opening to weekdays.

“I can confirm this is not the case,” said Gerry Marr, NHS Tayside chief operating officer, in a letter to the community council.

“Indeed it would be of great concern if the public has this impression, as it is important to have this type of facility available to the immediate locality and it is on the whole a fairly busy unit, particularly in the early evening and over the weekend.

“Your perceptions may have arisen as a result of some observations which have been shared with a number of people that from 10 pm and through to 8 am the numbers of patients coming through the unit is extremely small and there are occasions when there are no patients at all.

“This makes the service very inefficient as we require to staff the unit during these periods and understandably it is concerning for staff who need to maintain their skills and, in part, do this by seeing patients.”

As a result of the low usage, Mr Marr admits, the idea of providing a different type of service at Montrose during the overnight period had been considered.

One proposition had been to introduce a travelling service, where staff would go to the patient instead of the patients going to the minor injury unit.

However, he concedes, this would be difficult to manage as 50% of the patients do not go through the NHS 24 out-of-hours service but simply walk in to the Montrose unit seeking attention.

However, it there were to be any changes made to the service, Mr Marr has assured the community council these will not happen without consultation with the local community.