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Care Opinion

Minor Injuries Unit service

Posted By PatientA

"Minor Injuries Unit service"

About: Stirling Care Village / Minor injuries unit

(as a relative),

Passing on a thank you to the staff who assessed and treated my wife today at the Minor Injuries unit in Stirling.

The waiting room was surprisingly pleasant - bright, lots of windows and a tv on the wall (albeit it automatically switched off after 20 minutes) this really helped with the wait. 

My only concern that I feel is important to highlight is that we were initially turned away (this has happened both times we've tried to use the minor injuries unit). We were advised that this because there wasn't enough staff for the number of patients being seen and that minor injuries unit was closed, despite being midday on a Monday. The receptionist gave us 3 options: go to A&E; go away and come back in the morning; or phone the out-of-hours GP.

After my wife queried this, we were advised that it would be ok to stay.
After 90 minutes, my wife was assessed and all-in-all we are very pleased, however I am left questioning whether to attend  Minor Injuries next time given that it appears the unit is inadequately staffed to safely meet the demand for it.
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Responses

Response from Tracey Archibald, Lead Nurse for Advanced Practice ED/MIU, Emergecy Departement/Minor Injuries Unit, Nhs Forth Valley 4 years ago
Tracey Archibald
Lead Nurse for Advanced Practice ED/MIU, Emergecy Departement/Minor Injuries Unit,
Nhs Forth Valley

Submitted on 09/07/2019 at 12:21
Published on Care Opinion on 10/07/2019 at 10:12

Hi Patient A, Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback.

I am delighted to hear that you were pleasantly surprised by the new building and surroundings while you waited.

I appreciate your concerns around the advice given to you by the reception staff and where to access care for minor injuries in the future. The unit is a very well used service and sometimes to give the best patient experience if the waiting times are high then the reception team are advised to give patients the three options described to inform patients of the alternatives available.

I am pleased to see that your wife was treated and you were pleased with the care received.

Tracey Archibald

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Response from Jason Graham, Operational Manager, Endoscopy/Renal/Dermatology/Opthalmology/Chronic Pain, NHS Forth Valley 4 years ago
Jason Graham
Operational Manager, Endoscopy/Renal/Dermatology/Opthalmology/Chronic Pain,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 10/07/2019 at 16:21
Published on Care Opinion at 16:21

Dear PatientA

Thank you for your feedback.

I am sorry to hear that you were not given immediate access to the Minor Injuries Unit. I am also sorry that you were given confusing information.

I would like to reassure you that you should continue to access the Minor Injuries Unit at Stirling Community Hospital for the treatment of any minor injury.

We do occasionally have to advise patients to attend Forth Valley Royal Hospital Emergency Department for clinical reasons.Very occasionally we have made difficult decisions to direct patients to either site to help us manage the unpredictable demand on the department.

We are working hard as department to improve our services for everyone. We plan to stop any redirection of patients who can be treated appropriately at Stirling Minor Injuries Unit during normal opening hours. We have agreed to do that with immediate effect.

Please accept our apologies. Please contact me at jasongraham@nhs.net if you would like to discuss this further.

Kind regards

Jason Graham

Clinical Manager

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