LISTEN: Could the minor injuries unit at Glasgow's Yorkhill Hospital be closing for good?

The future of the minor injuries unit at Glasgow's Yorkhill Hospital looks to be in doubt.

The facility closed its doors in the run up to Christmas as part of the health board’s ‘winter preparations’ with patients asked to use the service at the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital instead.

But a letter from the head of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde says the future of the facility is now under review - making it unclear when the unit will next open its doors.

Labour's health spokesman Anas Sarwar says locals want answers:

He added: “The decision to shut the minor injuries unit at Yorkhill just two days before Christmas with no pre-warning and no consultation was dangerous and wrong. At that time the SNP government in Edinburgh said that the closure was a temporary measure to due to the peak winter pressure. But we are now heading to the end of March and the unit remains closed.

"It has now been confirmed that the unit will remain closed while a review into minor injury units takes place with a view to closing the unit at Yorkhill altogether.

"The consequence of this decision is sadly exactly what Scottish Labour feared - more pressure on the A&E at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital - already the most stressed emergency department in the country.

“Local people are furious about this decision. There has been no information, in fact there has been deliberate misinformation, there has been no consultation and due process has not been followed.

"We believed all along that this was a deliberate attempt to undermine the unit so it can be closed permanently. That now appears to be the case. While the SNP obsess about another divisive referendum, we are again seeing the results of their mismanagement of our NHS - staff let down, patients failed and local services cut."

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "The Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at West Glasgow was temporarily moved to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) on Friday, 23 December as part of the board’s winter preparations.

"This has enabled us to strengthen services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and has had a minimal impact on patients. Our nurse practitioners at all our MIUs carry out an important role and this move was intended to make best use of this expert team of nursing staff, in order to help as many people as possible.

"During the winter a review of travel distances and times has been carried out, to better understand the impact on patient journeys to their nearest MIU. Early indications show that patients from most areas have found a reduction in both, with average travel distance reduced by 0.3 miles and drive time reduced by 0.9 minutes.

"A full review will be carried out over the next three months which will look at various options including reopening the MIU service at Yorkhill and also assessing the potential to locate the service at Gartnavel General Hospital.

No decision will be taken without a full financial appraisal as well as engagement with patients and GPs."