HEALTH chiefs have announced another week-long closure of the Minor Injuries Unit at Dawlish Community Hospital.

The ‘temporary’ closure will be until Monday January 12 according to Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust.

Anyone with an urgent but not life-threatening injury or condition is advised to visit the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Newton Abbot Community Hospital or the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Totnes Community Hospital which remains open.

A spokesman said: ‘We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.’

The unit has been closed intermittently for the last year.

In November it was closed for two weeks consecutively.

Trust bosses have said previously the closures are due to staffing issues which have meant the unit cannot provide safe staffing levels.

A trust spokesman said on a previous occasion the unit was shut: ‘Since Dawlish Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) reopened in April 2024, we’ve experienced low attendance rates and ongoing staffing challenges to provide a safe and consistent service.

‘Our attempts to recruit and use agency staff have been unsuccessful, resulting in us making difficult decisions to temporarily close the MIU at short notice and moving staff to our urgent treatment centre (UTC) in Newton Abbot.

‘We recognise the disruption this has caused, but ensuring safe staffing levels is our priority.’

There are fears locally that the continued closures will lead to a permanent loss of the facility.

NHS England has set out a national requirement that Minor Injuries Units (MIUs) should no longer be offered as standalone services by April.

The trust says NHS Devon is reviewing MIUs and UTCs across Devon.

No decisions have been made about any of the services yet, including Dawlish.