PATIENTS are furious after being turned away from Yate's Minor Injury Unit (MIU) because it was too busy.


The drop-in centre in the Yate West Gate Centre has come under fire for refusing to treat people who attended during its listedopening hours, but MIU bosses said it was unavoidable due to high demand.


This has led to fears that patients will instead call an ambulance or attend A&E, putting increased strain on those services.


The MIU, which opened in June 2010 and is run by the not-for-profit company Sirona Care and Health, has drop-in hours of 8.30am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 1.30pm Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays.


The X-ray facilities, run by North Bristol Trust (NBT), are available from 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.


However, the MIU does state that the opening hours are subject to change at short notice due to high volumes of patients and to ensure cleaners can access the clinical rooms in time for the centre to close at 9pm.


Yate resident Chris Edmonds, 27, said he was turned away by MIU staff at 2pm on an afternoon in March.


"I had a referral from my doctor to go to the unit for an X-ray," he said.


"I work at a bathroom company in Bristol so I took time off work especially to go.


"I went across at around 2pm and when I arrived I was told they were too busy to do the X-ray.


“I used to work for the NHS ambulance service for many years so I know that it can be busy, but I also know that if people are turned away, many will head to A&E with their injuries or even a small percentage will call an ambulance.


“The MIU was created to take pressure off A&E departments so by turning away people it will only make them busier, and if people do call an ambulance, that could be taking away emergency services from someone who really needs it.”


Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Thornbury and Yate, said he was contacted by a resident who was turned away from the MIU on February 9.


Mr Webb said: “I am shocked that the minor injuries unit could be closed with no notice at different times every day.


“If people have no idea if the service will be available in an evening or not, then many will simply go straight to Southmead.


“It is not good enough to offer people apologies and complaints forms – they need a reliable and dependable minor injuries unit that will be there when they need it.”


Carrie Wedgwood, head of specialist services at Sirona, said: “We do what we can to ensure we do not turn away anyone in need from Yate MIU during opening hours.


“However, if we are particularly busy and have a long queue or if someone arrives as we are closing, we will suggest that they return the next day or attend the nearest A&E depending on their need.

Obviously, if someone is in a life threatening situation we will do all we can and organise an ambulance.


“Regarding the date of February 9, this was a Monday which is always our busiest day, but we did not close early that day. That day we treated an unprecedented increase of 100 per cent in the number of patients attending the unit in comparison to the average daily attendance from the previous year.


“We are really sorry if someone felt they did not get the service they needed and that the reasons for this were not explained.”