THE minor injuries unit at a hospital in Crowborough will close for up to six weeks and staff "redeployed" to fight against Covid-19.

The unit at Crowborough War Memorial Hospital will temporarily close from 8pm on Sunday, 24 January for 4-6 weeks.

During this time, patients seeking help with minor injuries are encouraged to call NHS 111 first.

Patients can also attend the Minor Injury Unit at Uckfield Community Hospital instead, which is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

It comes after the Royal Sussex County Hospital ran out of critical care beds amid a surge in Covid patients.

Kate Pilcher, chief operating officer at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know that Crowborough MIU is an important service to the town and we are committed to reopening it as quickly as possible.

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“However, the numbers of patients have been very low and temporarily closing it will allow staff that were based there to work in other areas supporting our response to COVID-19 and caring for patients who are very unwell.

“We hope local people will understand that we’ve had to make this decision based on the incredible pressures COVID-19 has placed us all under.

”We will continue to review the situation regularly to ensure we can resume MIU services in Crowborough as soon as practicably possible.”

Dr Elizabeth Gill, Chief Medical Officer for the Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups, said: "The decision to temporarily close this valued service was not taken lightly and it is a testament to our local NHS partners that the skilled and dedicated staff from Crowborough MIU can be redeployed quickly to where they are needed most in this time of national emergency.

“We are keeping matters under constant review and will re-open as soon as we are able. We thank members of the Crowborough community for their support and understanding.”