NHS plans to move hospital injuries unit

The minor injuries unit at an Essex hospital could be moved "to help more people get faster diagnosis and treatment," says the NHS Essex Integrated Care Board.

The unit at Orsett Hospital would be moved about a mile and a half away to Thurrock Community Hospital, which bosses say has "more modern facilities".

The plans are still being finalised and will be subject to further discussions within the NHS in the coming months.

Samantha Goldberg, executive director of commissioning acute and adult mental health services at NHS Essex, said: "People across Essex have told us that faster diagnosis and treatment should be a top priority."

Goldberg said the plan was be a "positive step" for patients.

"Moving the service to Thurrock Community Hospital, alongside the Community Diagnostic Centre, would help bring more care, tests and treatment together in one place," she added.

It comes at the same time Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said it had "safety concerns" with the Orsett Hospital building.

However, Dawn Scrafield, deputy chief executive of the trust, said it was "too early" to speculate what this might mean for services there.

She said concerns about the estate were being "properly investigated".

The future of Orsett has been the subject of speculation for a number of years.

According to the Royal College of Nursing, the building was originally a workhouse built in 1837.

Over the decades, it transitioned through use as a wartime Emergency Medical Service station, a 500-bed acute hospital, and eventually downsized to a modern outpatient and minor injury services.

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