TOO few qualified nurses are forcing Teignbridge Primary Care Trust (PCT) to cut the opening hours at Teignmouth Hospital's minor injury unit. It will now be open from 8am to 11pm, seven days a week.

Local community hospitals have been facing increasing difficulties recruiting qualified nursing staff and in particular those with the extended skills required to treat patients in minor injury units.

At present there are six vacancies at Teignmouth Hospital and despite recent advertisements the PCT has been unsuccessful in filling those posts. This has frequently meant that the hospital has been unable to cover the minor injury unit service round-the-clock.

Michelle Kenney, Teignbridge Council media and communications officer, said: 'It has been increasingly difficult to recruit staff. Inevitably this will happen in many more places, not just Teignbridge.'

Pam Smith, the PCT's chief executive, commented: 'We realise that patients could have been inconvenienced by this situation so, in the light of the continuing staffing problems, we have decided to introduce new opening hours – covering daytimes and evenings throughout the week and at weekends – which we can rota staff to cover, and then local people will know exactly when the service will be available.'

In fact, only a very small number of patients use the service during the night-time hours and in an average week only one or two people would be affected by this change.

Ms Kenney added: 'The minor injury unit at Newton Abbot Hospital is not 24 hours, so Teignmouth up until now has been fortunate in having the service.'

For those who need more urgent attention the nearest alternative minor injury unit is at Dawlish Hospital. NHSDirect is also a 24-hour service and can offer advice on 0845 4647. The area's accident and emergency service is at Torbay Hospital.

Mrs Smith added: 'Looking to the longer term, the PCT is working with the GP out-of-hours service to see how we can collectively provide better integrated night-time services for patients. In a rural community, good local access is important – equally it is important that patients get treated by someone with appropriate skills.

'We believe this can be achieved through providing a service which teams GPs and nurses.

q Town councillors roundly criticised the trust's withdrawal of the 24 hour service at their meeting on Tuesday.

Chairman of the committee Cllr Fred Tooley said: 'This is very important – the people of the town want a 24 hour service,' going on later to conclude that service's reduction was 'what we were concerned about all along'.

Cllr Tooley was referring to the latest cut back following on just a year or so after 14 beds were closed at Teignmouth – which also prompted him to question what had happened to the staff that must have been freed up by their closure.

To conclude their discussion, the councillors voted to write to the trust expressing their concerns and to request a meeting with the chief executive Mrs Smith.