Closing our minor injuries unit in Altrincham is madness - it's a disgrace it's not reopened again

The unit has been closed since the first Covid pandemic lockdown four years ago and has not reopened, chiefly because of a national shortage of specialist emergency nurses. Opposition councillors on Trafford council have been fighting to get it reopened and the borough’s watchdog health scrutiny committee has now called for a high-level public consultation before it is condemned.

That crunch decision could come on Wednesday (September 18) when the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB) makes its final decision. A review of urgent care in Trafford carried out by health professionals has recommended permanent closure, with patients needing treatment being diverted to Wythenshawe Hospital, nearly three miles away.

But the scrutiny committee resolved last Wednesday night (September 11) to ask to carry out a detailed public consultation because it  would be a ‘substantial change resulting in the closure of a service’. Meanwhile, the newly-elected Altrincham and Sale MP Connor Rand stood up in the House of Commons to make his maiden speech, calling for the unit to be saved.

He told fellow MPs: “The Altrincham minor injuries unit was a service that was relied upon by my constituents, but it was closed by the Trafford Locality Board in 2020 and it has recently recommended that it should never reopen. I am opposing this recommendation, shaped by 14 years of Conservative failure on our National Health Service.”

He asked for a debate in Government time about the importance of alleviating pressures on hospital emergency departments and ensuring the NHS can ‘truly be a neighbourhood health service’.

The response from Leader of the House Lucy Powell is likely to give encouragement to those campaigning for the minor injuries unit’s retention.

She said: “I know one of the key priorities of the Health Secretary [Wes Streeting] is to ensure our services move from hospitals to communities and so a minor injuries unit like the one in Altrincham would be important to that endeavour.”

On the streets of the town in the south of Trafford the opposition to the unit’s closure was unequivocal.  Ellie Mae Constance, 75, was born and brought up in South Africa, but has lived in Sale for the last 22 years.

She has no car and said she will struggle to get to Wythenshawe Hospital. Standing outside the hospital, waiting for a taxi, she said: “They definitely need to open it back up. Sending people to Wythenshawe is no good. I have a mobility scooter, but it’s too far away to go on that.”

Pauline Smith, 76, and her 66-year-old friend Carmel Byrone were of equal mind.

Pauline said: “They seem to send people all over the place. This is what annoys me. Closing the unit down will put the emergency team at Wythenshawe under more pressure.  There was a walk-in service here in Altrincham, it was really good.”

Carmel said she had suffered a back injury, but because she couldn’t get seen in Altrincham she opted not to Wythenshawe and remained untreated.

“There was no way I was going to Wythenshawe to wait for hours,” she said.

Kenny Caune, 27, was slightly more understanding over the health bosses’ recommendations. 

“I guess sometimes there are people wanting emergency treatment that don’t really need it. I can see their point of view,” he said. “I think one day there won’t be an NHS, it’ll be like it is in the USA.”

Rob Fosbrok, 69, was less forgiving. He said: “They shouldn’t shut this unit. Wythenshawe Hospital is awful for parking. I’m retired, but if you working, the last thing you need is to be going out to somewhere like Wythenshawe.”

Friends Alexa Hodkinson-Bentley and  Veronica Morris, both 18, want the minor injuries unit reopened.

“It would be more practical to have the unit here,” said Alexa. “Wythenshawe might not be that far away, but it takes ages to get there.”

Veronica said: “The roads to Wythenshawe are not good.”

Bev Taylor, 34, had a friend who needed a growth on his neck draining. She said: “It was much easier to get an appointment and get it done in Altrincham that it would’ve been going to Wythenshawe. The only way it will work is if they set up another unit.”

Her partner James Taylor, 34, agreed. “They should reopen the unit,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Brian Denbigh, 80, lives in Timperley. He has had a stroke and can no longer drive. He said: “I don’t want to go to Wythenshawe,” he said. “There are no trams and I’ve got a perfectly good car sitting on my drive that I can’t use. Closing the minor injuries unit down is madness.”

One woman who would be named said: “I live in Timperley and have a few grandchildren. For their sake, I want the unit reopened. It’s a disgrace it’s not happened yet.”