TOWN Hall bosses have called on health chiefs to consider increasing services at threatened minor injuries units to help reduce pressure on Colchester Hospital.

The North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group has put forward four options for the future of its minor injuries service.

One option could see Dovercourt’s Fryatt Hospital, Clacton Hospital and the walk-in centre in Colchester scrapped.

The other proposals include retaining the units or establishing a new minor injuries service at unspecified sites located in north Essex.

Tendring Council will write to the CCG to call for the units to remain open – and for services to be increased.

Speaking at a meeting of the council's cabinet on Friday, Lynda McWilliams, cabinet member for leisure, health and wellbeing, said: “Any changes to these services would be premature, particularly when Tendring is in the process of increasing the number of houses in the district.

“Major developments are already under way with many more on the horizon, bringing with them a significant increase in the population of Tendring over the next five to ten years.

“The geographical make up of our district also poses a problem as large parts of our district are rural communities that can be isolated with very limited access to public transport.

“If the Harwich unit was closed there are difficulties for Harwich residents to access the Clacton unit, this is due to a lack of good road infrastructure and available transport across that part of the district.

“I believe that rather than consider reducing services one of the options should be in relation to increasing and maximising the use of the units.

“They could provide the opportunity for expanded minor surgical and clinical delivery at a local level.

“This expansion of the service would reduce the pressure on Colchester Hospital and be a much better outcome for patients.

“We know that Tendring has an above average number of people who are not registered with a doctor and therefore to leave Colchester Hospital as their first port of call would be a false economy.”

Cabinet member Giles Watling added: “We must remember we are an area that has a lot of guests during the tourist season and it is vital we have such a facility for those visitors.”

But Labour group leader Ivan Henderson said he did not support the cabinet's position.

He said: "We can not support the response that suggests we may look at centralised services within Tendring for the future."

The CCG said its preferred option is to establish a new minor injuries service, but that a decision has not yet been made.

A final decision is expected to be made in May. To have your say as part of the consultation, which runs until March 1, go to neessexccg.nhs.uk.