An NHS worker has warned that closing minor injury units overnight at three north-east hospitals will have a “massive” impact on children.
The shocked employee, speaking anonymously, lashed out after the Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) agreed to end nightly medical care in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Huntly.
It came amid fears the changes could leave children screaming through the night without proper pain medication after suffering broken bones – and grave concerns about delays in treating youngsters suffering severe asthma attacks.
The controversial move will save Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership around £716,000 in the year ahead.
The budget cut is expected to bring further savings of around £1 million in the years to come.
Ahead of the crucial meeting, it revealed it needed to £20 million due to rising costs and a reduction in funding from the Scottish Government.
The region’s three remaining 24-hour minor injury units have now fallen vicitim to the cash crisis.
The units at Peterhead Community Hospital, Fraserburgh Hospital and Huntly’s Jubilee Hospital will shut between 7pm and 7am.
Minor injury units ‘underutilised’ overnight
Board chairwoman Anne Stirling previously told the Press and Journal that, on average, the units see four patients per night each.
However, she stressed that patients can still access the Out of Hours GP care service (GMED) by calling NHS 24 on 111.
The minor injury units will also remain open seven days a week, but only from 7am to 7pm.
Instead of being seen overnight by a nurse now, patients will have to wait until the morning to receive an appointment.
Chief nurse Alison McGruther told the meeting that the units had “very minimal” use.
Ms McGruther also argued that patients being attended to during daytime hours was better as they could benefit from X-Ray or casting.
And she argued it would prevent “long waits in waiting rooms”.
Meanwhile, June Bernard, nurse director for medicine and unscheduled care at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary didn’t believe the change would impact its creaking A&E department.
She said: “Based on the numbers given I see no risk associated with the emergency departments and Scottish Ambulance Service colleagues.”
Fears knock-on effect for ARI and ambulance service not considered
However, Fraserburgh councillor Seamus Logan said he couldn’t support the overnight closures.
Mr Logan revealed he had received a “massive volume” of correspondence from concerned constituents.
He said: “I want you to consider a child with an asthmatic attack and their immediate rush to the minor injury unit as it currently stands.
“In that instance there may be equipment within the unit to help with that situation and if it’s closed overnight, that’s not going to happen.”
Mr Logan also gave an example of a councillor colleague who recently found themselves seeking medical attention.
“He sliced his hand with a knife and cut four fingers.
“Didn’t bother ringing 111 but went down to an MIU standing outside with blood dripping from his hand but was told ‘no, you have to ring 111’.
“I started to think how that kind of presentation would be handled under the new process.”
The councillor also believed the knock-on effect the nightly closures would have on the ambulance service and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary wasn’t being taken into account.
“It was only 48-hours ago that we were told ARI could only take life-threatening presentations,” he added.
Minor injuries ‘will not require an ambulance’
However Ms McGruther explained that the MIU service was “misunderstood” and does not treat emergency injuries.
She said: “We need to be clear that a minor injury will not require an ambulance.”
Pam Milliken, chief officer of the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, stressed the closures were needed to help balance the budget.
She said: “We know from the data that minor injury units are an inefficient use of resources and we have alternative services in place.”
The board voted to shut the units by six votes to two, with the move affecting 15 nurse posts.
The board agreed to host drop-in information sessions for residents in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Huntly to learn more about the closures.
NHS worker voices anger at ‘unethical’ MIU closures
Meanwhile, the angry NHS worker told us it was “quite a blow” to hear the units would be closed overnight – but feared it was the “start of the end” for community hospitals.
“I’m suspicious about the amount of money they are saying they are going to save by closing it.
“I don’t see how they are going to save £1 million without getting rid of more than just the minor injuries units.”
The anonymous employee told us that their family had used the minor injury unit in Peterhead three times after suffering from asthma attacks.
“We used the unit at some point through the night, and for the time I used it, I wouldn’t have made it to Aberdeen if I hadn’t been stabilised at Peterhead first.
“I physically couldn’t breathe by the time I made it to the unit and that terrifies me.”
The worker, who is a proud parent, feared the closures would hit the region’s youngsters too.
“There’s a limit as to what you can do as a parent and I have massive concerns around the provision at sick kids ARI, they are just as overwhelmed.
“Even broken bones or bad sprains, you’re not going to leave a kid screaming through the night. They need to go somewhere even just for pain management.”
They also raised concerns about the impact the overnight closures would have on residents in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Huntly.
“The thing that annoys me the most is that the areas with the most deprivation in Aberdeenshire are being given even bigger inequity in terms of the services they can access.
“I find it quite concerning, particularly in relation to the kind of people who live in Peterhead and Fraserburgh and the lack of access they already have to a lot of services that are being pulled.
“I think it’s unethical.”
‘People can’t time injuries’
The decision to close the units was met with huge disapproval from Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid too.
Mr Duguid added: “People can’t time injuries and my constituents are deeply concerned that patients will now be asked to wait until the morning before being seen to.
“I have long campaigned for a return to pre-Covid MIU service levels and this decision goes in completely the opposite direction of assurances I was given previously.
“This, along with a general lack of effective communication, sends a confusing message to the public.”
The MP has now requested a meeting with the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership to discuss the matter further.
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