Oakham's minor injury unit will remain open to everyone

Treatment for minor injuries will continue to be available to anyone who attends the clinic at Rutland Memorial Hospital.

Managers at Oakham Medical Practice feared they would have to close the service to anyone not registered at the surgery because of a dispute over its contract with the East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group.

Doctors felt the proposed contract didn’t provide enough money to offer the service to everyone and those not registered would have been forced to travel outside of the county for treatment.

But an agreement has been reached which will see the service continue for everyone until at least March 31, 2020, with an option to extend it by another year.

Practice director,Ian Razzell,said: “Oakham Medical Practice acknowledges that this solution would not have been possible without very positive support from the Patient Participation Group and the East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group.”

The minor injuries service will continue to run from Rutland Memorial Hospital on weekdays from 8.30am until 6.30pm. Bank holidays will be covered by contractors.

It will continue to operate as a walk-in service but patients will need to register and will be seen based on clinical need rather than the order in which they arrive.

Minor illnesses, mental health issues, alcoholism, dental problems and more serious injuries can't be treated there.