DAWLISH Hospital’s minor injuries unit is expected to reopen soon, almost three years after it was closed.

The unit was shut by health bosses at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic due to staffing shortages. 

It is understood staff have been recruited but have been undergoing training before the MIU can be re-opened. 

Opened in 1999, the purpose-built hospital in Barton Terrace operates as a ‘clinical hub’.

But the pandemic led to the ‘temporary’ closure of its MIU along with the same facility at Totnes Hospital.

The Totnes unit was able to open in July 2022. 

At that time, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust said it recognised that the closure of both units had caused ‘concern’ for many people.

It said the closures were due to ‘staffing challenges which were exacerbated by the demands of the pandemic’.

Since efforts were made to recruit new staff, Totnes MIU was able to reopen last July. 

Then, it was said staff had also been recruited for Dawlish Hospital but they needed ‘an intensive training programme of up to 12 months’ to attain skills to work in the MIU. 

The aim was to have it up and running within a year