A minor injuries unit in Cornwall now has a new home after moving out of its hospital base and relocating nearby.

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has now opened Bodmin Minor Injury Unit in its new premises.

After more than 20 years inside Bodmin Hospital, the minor injuries unit has moved out and relocated to the town’s community diagnostic centre, which opened in December 2022.

The community diagnostic centre is still located within the same grounds of Bodmin Community Hospital in Boundary Road. 

Tamsin Fussell, urgent care nurse consultant, said: “We are really pleased to move into the new facilities within the community diagnostic centre.

“The new facilities include a triage room, five treatment bays, all with a specific clinical function. Moving into the community diagnostic centre gives us access to more diagnostic tests, for example CT scans.”

Watch a time lapse of the unit's relocation below: 

The unit is one of Cornwall’s larger units. The team have already helped almost 11,700 patients in 2023 so far, and that was before the start of their busiest month of August.

Of the people who have used the minor injury unit this year, 834 needed help with a head injury, 323 with burns, and 157 with broken bones.

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Laura Inniss, advanced clinical practitioner Minor Injury Unit lead, runs the unit. She said: “We have an amazing team that are competent and committed to our patients and our community. “We never know who is going to walk through the door, and this is part of what gives us passion and drive for as MIU practitioners, it’s what makes us love our job.

“We’re one of ten minor injury units across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and we’re a key part of the network of urgent and emergency care services.

“In most cases, we’re able to treat people quickly and efficiently so they can return home, but there are times when we need to transfer people to the emergency department because they are very unwell.

“We’re here every day from 8am to 10pm and we are a walk-in service, so no appointment is required.”

Phase three at the community diagnostic centre will see the second floor transformed into a multi-use clinical space with more diagnostic facilities.

The diagnostic services available in Bodmin include X-ray, ultrasound and Cornwall’s fifth CT scanner, which is the only one east of Truro.

Bodmin's minor injury unit is the only one in the east of Cornwall that is open from 8am to 10pm. Camborne/Redruth in the west is also open 8am to 10pm, while the majority of units are open from 8am to 8pm.