A petition was handed to NHS Wiltshire’s regular board meeting on Wednesday (November 28) calling for the reinstatement of Devizes’ Minor Injuries Unit – an issue which will remind many people in Marlborough of past battles. The petition with the names of people from 2,562 households was handed by Devizes MP Claire Perry MP to Tony Barron, the PCT’s Chairman.
Mrs Perry was supporting the petition organisers Elizabeth and William Allen, who live in Horton, and Jo Batchelor of Devizes Books.
Mrs Perry started campaigning for the return of MIUs in the Devizes constituency during her election campaign. She secured a Westminster Hall debate on Devizes’ MIUs in July 2010 during which she was supported by Guy Opperman who, as a barrister, had acted pro bono for Val Compton at the judicial review into the closure of Savernake’s MIU and is now Tory MP for Hexham.
The debate was held a matter hours after Andrew Lansley’s White Paper outlining the reconfiguration of the NHS was published. The then health minister, Simon Burns said he was unable to intervene as the PCT remained responsible for commissioning Wiltshire’s health services.
Now the coalition’s changes have reached a crucial moment and it is a complex time for NHS Wiltshire (the PCT.) It is still the statutory body for commissioning the county’s health care, but the day-to-day decisions are now carried out by the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which takes over fully in April 2013.
Tony Barron has passed the petition to the joint (PCT and CCG) commissioning committee, the PCT’s audit and assurance committee and the PCT’s Medical Director. They will report back to the January board meeting at which the petition will be an agenda item meriting an open debate by the board members.
Deborah Fielding, the Accountable Officer (Designate) for the CCG said both the PCT Board members and the CCG Executive understand the strength of feeling from the signatories of the petition: “The CCG, under clinical leadership, is developing a model for community based care which includes plans for the GPs from the three Devizes practices working collaboratively to provide Minor Injuries services for the town in local settings.”
“We are acutely aware of the issues in Devizes and equally as keen to deliver a solution. However, a Minor Injuries Unit is not a financially viable option, and the decision taken in 2006 by the Primary Care Trust to close the MIU remains.”
Commenting after the meeting, Claire Perry said: “I know just how important this issue is to my constituents and I would like to see solutions being considered which will enable people with minor injuries to be treated locally.”
“I’ve recently had a very good meeting with members of the CCG Executive and I’m really encouraged by the proposed strategy for community based care, which is a positive step and a reflection of the NHS reforms for bringing care closer to home. I very much look forward to working with the CCG from April 2013”.
As Marlborough News Online was told after the board meeting, the circle may be squared when ‘unit’ gives way to ‘services in local settings.’
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