WITH the Christmas party season in full swing, a special minor injuries unit has been set up in an effort to relieve the pressure on A&E departments in the West Midlands.

The Temporary Minor Injuries Unit in the centre of Birmingham, now in its eighth year, will be running on the weekend before Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

It is hoped the unit will keep people with minor injuries and illnesses, as well as party-goers who have had a little too much to drink, away from hospitals in Worcestershire and throughout the West Midlands, which have recently been struggling under significant pressure.

Traditionally the Christmas period is the busiest time of year for ambulances and hospitals.

Last Saturday, December 13, was the fourth busiest day on record for West Midlands Ambulance Service, which received 3,550 999 calls throughout the day.

Paramedic Mike Duggan is in charge of running the ambulance service’s smaller-scale City Centre Treatment Unit which operates each Friday and Saturday night on Broad Street and sees around 60-80 patients each weekend.

He said: “Typical patients who are treated at the unit include those who have had too much alcohol, suffered cuts, bruises, sprained ankles or have a medical condition which has flared up and needs treatment.

“These patients often don’t need a trip to A&E but need some form of medical intervention and the TMIU is the perfect place.”

The unit in Cambridge Street is run by a partnership between the ambulance service, the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and other agencies and will be accessible via the Library of Birmingham reception from 8pm until 4am on Friday, December 19 and the following day as well as on New Year’s Eve.