THERE will be no reinstatement of a minor injuries unit at Chepstow hospital.

Deputy Mayor, Dale Rooke, who championed the call for a minor injuries unit in the hospital said, "After many meetings with the Aneurin Bevan Health Board (ABHB), we have been told that the MIU will not be re-instated. This is because the nursing staff do not receive enough foot-fall to maintain standards and best work practices.

"Our suggestion that the staff rotate between Chepstow MIU and the Royal Gwent, thus maintaining standards and best practice, fell on deaf ears.

"As Chepstow and the surrounding area continues to grow, the pressures on health-care provision will only increase. It is in my opinion, a very short-sighted approach from the ABHB. Many residents now travel to Lydney A&E for help, as the Royal Gwent Hospital is usually swamped, and they are seen quicker there."

"We have been led to believe that the Community Hospital could be developed into a specialised Dementia care unit. We were not given any time-scale for this to happen."

A spokesperson for ABHB said there are , "no plans to radically change what the hospital does."