The Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Crowborough War Memorial Hospital will temporarily close from 8pm on Sunday (24th January) for 4-6 weeks so that staff can be redeployed to help the local NHS response to Covid-19.
During this time, patients seeking help with minor injuries are encouraged to call NHS 111 first, where trained clinical staff will be able to advise which service is most appropriate for them. Alternatively, they can attend the Minor Injury Unit at Uckfield Community Hospital instead, which is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
All parts of the NHS across East Sussex remain under extreme pressure, like the rest of the country, and our local GPs and other health and care professionals are working incredibly hard to ensure local people get the care they need at this extremely challenging time. The decision to temporarily close Crowborough MIU – which has seen a decline in the number of patients who use it – will enable staff to support the local NHS’s wider response to Covid-19, by caring for patients who are unwell in inpatient units.
Kate Pilcher, Chief Operating Officer at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, said:
We know that Crowborough MIU is an important service to the town and we are committed to reopening it as quickly as possible.
However, the numbers of patients have been very low and temporarily closing it will allow staff that were based there to work in other areas supporting our response to COVID-19 and caring for patients who are very unwell.
We hope local people will understand that we’ve had to make this decision based on the incredible pressures COVID-19 has placed us all under.
We will continue to review the situation regularly to ensure we can resume MIU services in Crowborough as soon as practicably possible.
Kate Pilcher, Chief Operating Officer at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Elizabeth Gill, Chief Medical Officer for the Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups, said:
The decision to temporarily close this valued service was not taken lightly and it is a testament to our local NHS partners that the skilled and dedicated staff from Crowborough MIU can be redeployed quickly to where they are needed most in this time of national emergency.
We are keeping matters under constant review and will re-open as soon as we are able. We thank members of the Crowborough community for their support and understanding.
Dr Elizabeth Gill, Chief Medical Officer for the Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups
If you need non-urgent medical advice and guidance, please contact 111.
In an emergency, please phone 999.
