A NEW minor injuries service aimed at slashing the time patients have to wait be treated for relatively minor injuries and illnesses is to be launched at York Hospital.

The £250,000 initiative will help York Hospitals NHS Trust meet Government targets to see 98 per cent of patients in the Accident and Emergency (A and E) Department within four hours.

Currently, the department manages to see, treat and discharge or admit 93 per cent of the patients who come through its doors within the Government target time.

Jim Easton, the trust's chief executive, said the minor injuries treatment area would be staffed by nurses, seven days a week, between 8am and 10pm.

He said: "A and E is a terrifically busy department, and sometimes people with minor injuries can be kept waiting while we deal with people who are seriously ill. This new service will mean that people with minor injuries can be seen quickly all the time. We're talking about people with bumps, bruises and minor fractures, all of which can be very uncomfortable for those people, but are seen as minor injuries.

"It should help us cut waiting times, meet targets and improve staff morale, so it should be a winner all round."

Alison Sayers, York branch chairman of the Royal College of Nursing, said the move could only be positive for nurses and patients.

"There are occasions when the waiting time for patients can rise to upwards of six hours and that's unacceptable," she said.

"If you have a room full of people with the same kind of injuries, how do you prioritise?

"I think this scheme will be a good idea. A nurse does assess patients in the first instance and this is something that we, as nurses, have thought for a long time that we could do.

"I can only be a good thing to get patients seen, treated and out quicker."

Updated: 09:14 Saturday, July 03, 2004