Turn out at MIU public meetings "exceeded our expectations", CCG says, announcing more

More public meetings about the future of three threatened minor injury units will take place in Ely and Fenland, following the huge turnout at meetings held over the past fortnight.
Today Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Health Group, which makes financial decisions about the NHS in our area, announced four further meetings planned for next month, including one in Ely on September 27.
Over 400 residents have attended meetings over the past two weeks to discuss minor injury and outpatient services across East Cambridgeshire and Fenland, after secret papers were leaked to the media by Northeast Cambs MP Steve Barclay. The papers, prepared by the CCG, recommended the closure of minor injury units in Ely, Doddington and Wisbech.
Tracy Dowling, chief officer for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG said: “We have had a really good response to the three meetings held so far, with people coming to listen to our ideas and share their views on the work we are doing to review minor injury services in East Cambridgeshire and Fenland, and we’re keen to keep these discussions going.
“Turn out at the meetings has exceeded our expectations, and regrettably we did have to turn some people away as the venues weren’t large enough to accommodate everyone. We can only apologise for this and reassure people who weren’t able to attend that we do want to hear your views, and additional meetings have been arranged.”

Further meetings are due to take place on:
• Thursday 8 September, March Community Centre, 34 Station Road, March, PE15 8LE, 6.30-8.00pm
• Tuesday 20 September, Queen Mary Centre, Queen’s Road, Wisbech, PE13 2PE, 6.30-8.00pm
• Wednesday 21 September, Chatteris Parish Church, Market Hill, Chatteris, PE16 6BA, 6.30-8.00pm
• Tuesday 27 September, The Maltings, Ship Lane, Ely, CB7 4BB, 6.30-8.00pm
• Additional dates to be booked in autumn 2016 and publicised widely.
Presentation slides and notes from each meeting will be available on the CCG website soon and people can call the CCG Engagement Team on 01223 725304 if they would like copies sent to them.
Ms Dowling said: “We welcome the contributions that have been made so far and will continue to listen to what people have to tell us over the coming months.
“We would like to reiterate that no decisions have been made about the future of the minor injury services in East Cambridgeshire and Fenland.
“We are looking at how these services relate to recommendations from the national review of urgent care services and how we might deliver minor injury services locally, working alongside other services including GPs and community services.
“We are at an early stage of our review and if any significant changes are considered necessary as a result of these discussions then a formal public consultation will take place.”
A petition by Ely campaigner Emma Watson, calling for Ely’s minor injuries unit to be saved, has got over 4400 signatures. She has also set up a Facebook page to keep people informed.