South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, in discussion with NHS Lanarkshire, took the decision to temporarily close the minor injury units last year.
The change was to further minimise the risk of patients contracting Covid-19 at both Kello and Lady Home.
Due to ongoing risk linked to well-publicised new variants, the minor injury units cannot be reopened at this time.
Craig Cunningham, Head of Commissioning and Performance, South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “Temporarily closing a service is not a decision that we take lightly.
“Given the frailty of many of the patients in these hospitals, the decision was taken to reduce the risk by stepping down minor injury services temporarily.
“It’s important to note that these restrictions remain in place at the current time. The minor injuries units will reopen when it is safe to do so.”
Mr Cunningham added: “We would encourage anyone requiring minor injuries services to use the services provided at University Hospital Hairmyres, University Hospital Monklands and University Hospital Wishaw.”
- People with non-life threatening conditions, who think their condition is serious enough to attend A&E, should call NHS 24 (111) first – day or night. Where appropriate, people can still access primary care services for urgent care, including contacting their GP practice during opening hours, as normal.
- NHS 24 assess people by telephone and refer them to the right care, delivered by the right healthcare professional, as close to home as possible. This could include self-care, GP practice, other primary care services, pharmacy, a minor injuries unit or referral to the Flow Navigation Centre within their health board for a clinical assessment.
- Since our nursing staff at Kello Community Hospital are no longer undertaking the wound management clinics, on account of the aforementioned safety considerations, we have initiated new clinics. These are held within the Physiotherapy/ Podiatry NHS building situated behind Kello Hospital. Existing wound care patients are already receiving their service from the Biggar location and any new referrals will similarly be treated locally.
