MORE events to explain plans for the overnight closure of the Minor Injuries Unit at a Gwent hospital have been announced by health bosses.
The Aneurin Bevan Health Board is planning to change the unit at Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital from being a 24-hour operation to one that is open from 7am through to 1am daily.
That would mean in the earliest hours of the morning, from 1am through to 7am, only the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport would have a Minor Injuries Unit open, while the emergency department at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran would continue to receive the most seriously ill and injured patients. If the board approves the closure of the emergency nurse-led Minor Injuries Unit at Nevill Hall is intended those requiring treatment, from across Gwent, and parts of south Powys should make the journey to Newport.
Monmouth MP David Davies has said that for many travelling on the A4042, that runs from the city north to Abergavenny, it would mean passing the Grange Hospital. The health board has said its figures show only around one patient a night attends at Nevill Hall between 1am and 7pm.
It is running a consultation on the plans, which has been extended to 12 weeks, and announced events at Ystrad Mynach, Ebbw Vale, Pontypool and Monmouth.
The Ystrad Mynach meeting at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr takes place on Tuesday, October 3 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. A meeting will take place in the Hall at Ebbw Vale Learning Action Centre on Tuesday, October 10 from 5pm to 7pm but people are being reminded the multistorey car park opposite the centre closes at 7pm. The Pontypool meeting will be at the Hanbury House Suite, Pontypool Active Living Centre on Monday, October 16 from 2pm to 4pm while a meeting will take place at Monmouth’s Bridges Centre, in the Ballroom, on Tuesday, October 24 from 4pm to 6pm.
There will also be on online meeting, via Microsoft Teams, on Monday, October 2 from 2pm to 3.30pm and people wanting to join the on-line sessions should email [email protected] while the board is also encouraging contributions via its social media channels.
