----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Minor Injury Units
> If Minor Injury Units are, as one reply has suggested, there for a
political
> reason, should we support them - as in accept clinical responsibilty for
> them?
> I can see that in some circumstances / areas MIU's may be justified but
where
> there does not appear to be a clinical justification i.e. sufficient
workload
> to justify the cost / training, can we as A/E consultants refuse to be
> responsible for them?
>
> Charlie Fee
Charlie, there are some examples of MIUs run solely by ENPs. I know of one
unit whose only relation to its "parent" department is to refer cases to the
fracture clinic or review clinic. The "parent" department consultants have
no ongoing responsibility for clinical care in the MIU, they do not visit to
teach, audit, manage or run clinics etc. This, in my view, is the only
sensible way to run an MIU, to do otherwise simply makes it back into a
quasi A&E department. And if you're already running a busy unit and the MIU
is any distance away, it would be foolish to consider taking on any
responsibility other than the automatic referral system I've described
above. However it may be hard to flat refuse to participate, but if
management do force the issue, you've then got a strong argument for
considerable expansion of seniors and middle grades.
Regards
Adrian Fogarty
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