MADAM, Monmouth Town Council is very concerned about the ill informed and inaccurate letter which appeared in the Beacon recently, [entitled Shocked to hear of minor injuries closure, printed 8th July] discussing the closure of Monmouth's Minor Injuries Unit. The letter implied that the Town Council had taken no action in this matter. The Aneurin Bevan Health Board closed the minor injuries unit over three years ago. Throughout its long demise before that, town councillors lobbied intensively with other local groups, to maintain the service, making well researched proposals into alternative means of running it within the building which was designed for it, Monnow Vale. Most recently, town councillors Graham Pritchard and Terry Christopher, together with MP David Davies and AM Nick Ramsay, have held a number of meetings with the chief executive of the board and other senior staff, to try and recover the service. It was made clear at these meetings, that the board defined a viable minor injuries unit as having a minimum of 30 patients a day. Presently on average, six Monmouth people a day, in total, use the accident and emergency units in the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall (unsurprising, perhaps, after years of publicity to discourage all but the most serious to travel to A and E, combined with the difficulties in getting there). Largely as a result of these meetings, the health board is now concentrating on planning to provide additional funds for nursing and doctors in local surgeries to deal with patients needing treatment for minor injuries. This local approach has the full support of Monmouth Town Council. In order for this to happen, there needs to be an agreed change to GPs' existing contracts. Negotiations are currently taking place nationally between the Welsh Assembly and the British Medical Association. The town council is in the process of lobbying the three local Assembly Members to stress the urgency of getting an agreement on the contract changes. We will ensure residents are made aware of the outcome of these negotiations, as soon as the information is available. Councillor Anthea Dewhurst, (Chairwoman of Community Affairs Committee, Monmouth Town Council)