Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) and Minor Injuries Unit (MIU)

These an alternative to attending the Emergency Department when an injury is not considered life-threatening, but still requires urgent treatment.

The Trust runs Urgent Treatment Centre at Cumberland Centre (Plymouth) and the Minor Injury Units South Hams Hospital (Kingsbridge) and Tavistock Hospital.

Examples of problems that can be treated are:

  • Cuts - we can use glue, steristrips (paper stitches) or sutures to close wounds
  • Small burns or scalds
  • Bites and stings
  • Sprains and certain fractures (see below)
  • Minor head injuries
  • Infected wounds
  • Foreign bodies in eyes

Our MIUs in Plymouth and Kingsbridge are open every day of the year, including Bank Holidays. Please see the contact information on the right hand side of this page for opening time of specific MIUs.

The Minor Injuries Units (MIU) are nurse-led facilities providing an efficient, high quality service for patients with minor injuries in the local community. The Nurse Practitioners staffing the MIUs have all received specialist training to enable them to assess, diagnose and treat patients of all ages (although the very young or elderly presenting with certain conditions may fall outside of our protocols). We also have an X-ray facility at all of our MIUs to help us diagnose any broken bones (upper and lower limbs only), that we can then treat with a plaster cast if necessary. 

Any patient attending the MIU with injuries or problems outside these protocols will be redirected to the appropriate agency, for example the Emergency Department or the patients' own GP Surgery.

If you are unsure whether the MIU is the right place for your treatment, please dial 111 so they can advise you which service is appropriate for your specific needs.

Patient Information Leaflets

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