Hospital units for minor injuries such as broken bones and sprains will be temporarily closed from today in some parts of Gloucestershire to cope with pressure caused by the coronavirus.

The minor injury and illness units at Vale and Dilke will temporarily shut from today and Tewkesbury’s one will close from Sunday evening (March 29).

The inpatient hospital services at these sites will be unaffected.

MIIUs in Stroud, Cirencester and the North Cotswolds will be open from 8am until 6pm every day of the week from March 30 until further notice.

The move will improve the resilience of services, ensuring clinicians are best placed to support patients who need treatment and advice.

The local NHS say the move will ensure clinicians will be ‘best placed’ to support patients who need treatment and advice.

John Trevains, director of nursing, quality and therapies for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the MIIUs in the county, said: “We are looking at all of our services, as the public would expect, to ensure we carefully manage our available staff and direct our efforts where there is the most demand for our support.

“We have been careful to ensure that there are still MIIUs open which are reasonably accessible to most communities, although we do know this decision may inconvenience some.

“I hope that the public will appreciate that this is a decision we have not taken lightly and will support us in our efforts to do what is right for our communities, as well as our staff.”

The public are reminded that the NHS is appealing to everyone to only use services, like GP surgeries and hospitals, when they really need to.

This includes keeping A&E clear for life threatening emergencies.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, do not visit an MIIU. Follow the specific health advice found via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus and use NHS 111 online if your symptoms worsen.