Four Dorset minor injury units to close amid more strike action

Care will be available from three sites in the county during the planned industrial action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Wednesday and Thursday.

Normal services will resume at Bridport and Wimborne Minor Injuries Units (MIUs), as well as the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Weymouth Hospital.

However the MIUs at Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Swanage hospitals will be closed on both days.

This has been arranged in agreement with RCN representatives in order to ensure 'patient safety and also safe staffing levels'.

Jane Elson, service director for Integrated Community Services, said: “While we will be unable to offer a full service over the strike days, consolidating our staff at three locations will allow us to provide a consistent, reliable offer to anyone who needs urgent treatment.”

The Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Weymouth Hospital will be unaffected (Image: Newsquest)

Dorset County Hospital (DCH) and Dorset Healthcare University are two of many NHS trusts to take strike action this week in a dispute with Government over pay and conditions. 

Last week, ambulance workers in Weymouth formed a picket line as part of a 24-hour walkout by unions. 

Nurses will be on picket lines at the entrance to DCH later this week in Williams Avenue, Dorchester from 7am to 7pm on each strike day. 

Unions say that their 'pay position is clear' and demand a pay award 'that goes 5 per cent above inflation'. 

DCH said it 'will be making sure we have adequate staffing levels to keep patients safe' during the strikes and has called on 'additional support from families and friends'. 

Anyone requiring urgent care for injury or illness should call NHS 111 or visit https://111.nhs.uk/ for an assessment.

For more details of MIU/UTC opening times and locations, see www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/miu

The NHS added that emergency care will continue to be available during industrial action via 999 for life-threatening cases.