ONE of the most-used departments of Felixstowe General Hospital has been receiving treatment – a makeover to improve it for patients.The minor injuries unit, which cares for up to 17,000 people a year, has seen its entrance and reception area refurbished to make it more welcoming and comfortable, especially for those who suffer from disabilities.

ONE of the most-used departments of Felixstowe General Hospital has been receiving treatment – a makeover to improve it for patients.

The minor injuries unit, which cares for up to 17,000 people a year, has seen its entrance and reception area refurbished to make it more welcoming and comfortable, especially for those who suffer from disabilities.

Dr Alan Wimhurst, president of the League of Friends of Felixstowe Hospitals, officially re-opened the unit.

The main work was to improve the entrance to make it more accessible for wheelchair users and people with disabilities.

The door to the old entrance was particularly heavy and the hospital found that wheelchair users and people with disabilities found it very difficult to operate.

The reception area has been refurnished and made more comfortable, and the league of friends has bought 30 woodframe stacking chairs and six-foam sided ones for people waiting to see nursing staff.

The work at the accident and emergency department took six to eight weeks and the staff are delighted with the outcome, a further commitment to the hospital in Constable Road and the vital role it plays in the life of the town.

During the construction work, the reception was relocated to another part of the hospital and doctors continued seeing patients, with all clinical rooms in operation.

The minor injuries unit is the first port of call for many Felixstowe people who feel their injury might not be serious enough to warrant a trip to casualty at Ipswich Hospital and need on-the-spot advice and treatment.

It has a dedicated team of highly-trained and multi-skilled nurses who can treat all sorts of minor injuries or refer the patients to Ipswich.

The refurbished unit is a another boost after the creation of a new state-of-the-art £135,000 X-ray unit two years ago, thanks to cash from the health trust, league of friends and GPs at Howard House surgery.

There had been fears for the future of Felixstowe General a few years ago, especially after health officials tried and failed to close the town's Bartlet Hospital as a cost-cutting measure. But now the General's future seems safe with an important role for it to play.