A much anticipated move of premises by a North Cornwall minor injuries unit has been celebrated by staff and the area’s MP.

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) has confirmed that the Bodmin Minor Injuries Unit has moved to an adjacent building on the site, formerly known as Bodmin Treatment Centre. It had been previously located in the main Bodmin Hospital building since it opened in the early 2000s to replace the former Victorian built East Cornwall Hospital, on Rhind Street.

The former Bodmin Treatment Centre originally served as a private hospital treatment facility until its closure in 2017 and was also used as a vaccination centre during the coronavirus pandemic.

It has been hailed by staff at the hospital as well as Scott Mann, who described it was ‘a fantastic addition’.

According to CPFT, the move will ‘deliver improved services closer to people’s homes’.

The move comes amid plans for the installation of a community diagnostic centre in the same building, which will offer x-ray, CT scan and ultrasound facilities, supplemented by a mobile diagnostic imaging space which has facilitated MRI scan capabilities on the site - saving people having to travel to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

The addition of the fifth CT scanner in Cornwall is also the first to be located east of Truro.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said of the unit: “The new minor injury unit boasts a dedicated triage room, 4 treatment bays, an isolation treatment bay, and all the essential areas necessary for delivering exemplary care standards. The Bodmin minor injury unit is 1 of 10 minor injury units run by the Trust across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The services make a vital contribution to the delivery of urgent care in our system taking pressure off Treliske and Derriford Hospitals.”

Sister Laura Innis said it was wonderful to be in the new building, saying: “It’s wonderful to be at the new site here in Bodmin. We now have a fantastic new unit to work from and I think this is another important step in the right direction as we aim to provide the best possible service for patients.”

Scott Mann, the MP for North Cornwall said: “One of my ambitions when I first became an MP was to see our local healthcare infrastructure brought up to a far higher standard than we have ever had before.

“I am really pleased with the way things are going and Bodmin is now becoming a health hub for North and East Cornwall. For the first time we have diagnostic equipment such as MRI and ultrasound in the area thanks to the Community Diagnostic Hub, and the only CT scanner in Cornwall east of Truro which is a fantastic addition.

“I have always pledged to the local community that I will deliver on healthcare solutions that are closer to home, and I will continue to work hard with colleagues locally in our NHS and in Westminster to achieve more outcomes like this.”