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Cannot check if you have broken a bone - No...

Story from nhs.uk

"Cannot check if you have broken a bone - No..."

About: Totnes Hospital / Minor injury unit

My wife took my daughter to Tones Minor Injuries Unit as she had a sporting injury to her wrist which could have been a broken / fractured wrist.

Before setting out of a 15 mile journey to the unit my wife checked the website which said they treat minor injuries like broken bones. It states they have an X-Ray machine.

Also the website advises going to minor injury units rather than A&E (we live 7 miles from A&E in Plymouth). The minor injuries unit is open 8:00am - 9:00pm, 7 days a week.

However when my wife got there she was told they do not have an X-Ray machine. On asking further she was told they do have a machine but its only available on Monday AM and Thursday PM!!

This unit is open 13 hours a day , 7 days a week and they offer 2 "slots". I am guessing this is because of staff shortages and they cannot have a full time radiologist to work the machine.

My question to the NHS managers - How can a minor injuries unit treat broken bones with no-one to check if you have a broken bone, surely a radiologist is one of the key staff in a minor injuries unit otherwise you might as well go to your GP.

This review is no reflection on the staff at Totnes Minor Injuries unit as my wife said they were very good. This is a review on what I assume are either cut backs or poor management. Just hope you don't break your bones outside of the very small coverage they have.

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Responses

Response from Sam Holden, Patient Experience Lead, Patient Quality and Safety, South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group 10 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Sam Holden
Patient Experience Lead, Patient Quality and Safety,
South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group

Submitted on 08/12/2014 at 16:06
Published on Care Opinion on 09/12/2014 at 10:50

picture of Sam Holden

Dear Guy_Ivy

First of all, I am really sorry for the poor experience you and your wife have had and I am sorry for any distress caused and for the pain that your daughter suffered. I was pleased to hear that the staff at Totnes Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) provided a good service. I’d also like to thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

I was disappointed to read that you were let down by misleading information on the website, I have checked one website and I agree that it is not clear that the X-ray service is not provided all of the time that the unit is open. I am aware that this information is probably on a number of websites, so I would be grateful if you would let me know which website you visited so that I can ensure all of the information is the most up to date it can be.

Totnes MIU is provided and managed by Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust who we commission to provide this service, both the Trust and us as Commissioners are all too aware of the need for a full x-ray service at Totnes MIU. You may be interested to know that we are in fact just looking at proposals to extend it, so it would be available continuously during the MIU opening hours, seven days a week. Your feedback demonstrates to us one of the reasons why this is important. We will of course ensure that the extended hours for X-ray are communicated when it happens.

In the meantime, we will make arrangements to ensure that the correct information is displayed on the appropriate websites.

Thank you again for taking the time to post your feedback and I am really sorry for the poor experience, I hope that your daughter is recovering well. If you would like to discuss the issues you have raised further, please do not hesitate to contact the Patient Experience Team on 01803 652 578 or email: patientfeedback.sdtccg@nhs.net (Monday – Friday 9am - 5pm).

Alternatively, you can contact the feedback team at Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust via email to feedback.t-sd@nhs.net or telephone 01803 217397 or 0800 032 7657 (Monday to Friday 9am -5pm)

Best wishes

Sam Holden

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Response from Peter Brain, Volunteer, Healthwatch Devon 10 years ago
Peter Brain
Volunteer,
Healthwatch Devon

Submitted on 09/12/2014 at 15:16
Published on Care Opinion at 15:18

This comment and the response has been passed to us at Healthwatch.

We are building a picture of the provision of services in Devon and welcome these comments which will help the NHS improve its services.

If you wish to discuss any health or social care issues with us in confidence, including receiving advice or information about services please call 0800 520 0640, or email info@healthwatchdevon.co.uk or go on-line to www.healthwatchdevon.co.uk.

Yours sincerely

Peter Brain

Volunteer

Healthwatch Devon is the consumer champion for Health and Social Care in Devon.

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Response from Emma Davies, Quality and Experience Officer, Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust 10 years ago
We have made a change
Emma Davies
Quality and Experience Officer,
Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust

Submitted on 10/12/2014 at 17:34
Published on Care Opinion on 11/12/2014 at 10:44

We are very sorry that on this occasion we were unable to meet the needs of your daughter when she attended Totnes Minor Injury Unit. This Minor Injury Unit can assess all minor injuries and can provide treatment for the majority of such presentations. In most cases where minor fractures are suspected, patients can be treated, plastered or splinted and appointments made for the patient to return for follow up x-ray's on a planned basis as part of this arrangement. In some circumstances a number of treatments can be undertaken without the need of an x-ray.

However, there are a small number of injuries or fractures that require immediate x-ray and possible specialist intervention. In these cases, the Minor Injury Unit staff will refer patients to the local Emergency Department as they can be treated more appropriately for their condition.

The Trust is currently working with the local Clinical Commissioning Group in Torbay and South Devon to examine how the Minor Injury Units might be designed and aligned so that they can offer extended x-ray provision in future.

I would like to thank you for your feedback and I can confirm the appropriate websites have been amended accordingly.

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Response from Sam Holden, Patient Experience Lead, Patient Quality and Safety, South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group 10 years ago
We have made a change
Sam Holden
Patient Experience Lead, Patient Quality and Safety,
South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group

Submitted on 11/12/2014 at 11:43
Published on Care Opinion at 15:34

picture of Sam Holden

Dear Guy_Ivy

I am really pleased to confirm that your feedback has led to immediate action and as confirmed above the relevant sections of websites have been changed to reflect the current limited X-ray service at Totnes MIU.

I have included below the links to the relevant websites so that you can see that these changes have been made:

Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust website:

http://www.tsdhc.nhs.uk/ourservices/TotnesHospital/Pages/Default.aspx

NHS Choices website:

http://www.nhs.uk/Services/hospitals/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=46711

If you do have any further questions or wish to provide further feedback, we would be pleased to hear from you and you can contact the Patient Experience Team on 01803 652 578 or email: patientfeedback.sdtccg@nhs.net (Monday – Friday 9am - 5pm).

Alternatively, you can contact the feedback team at Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust via email to feedback.t-sd@nhs.net or telephone 01803 217397 or 0800 032 7657 (Monday to Friday 9am -5pm).

Once again, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and offer my apologies for the frustration caused by the misleading information. I hope that the action taken has demonstrated that we do take feedback seriously and endeavour to make changes based on feedback.

Best wishes

Sam Holden, Patient Experience Lead

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