A FORMER mayor of Bodmin has expressed his surprise after learning that a clinic previously accessible at his local hospital had been removed.

Cllr Andy Coppin, who was mayor of Bodmin between 2014 and 2015 during his 18-year tenure as a Bodmin Town Council member, recently had to assist a relative who had required the services from the fracture clinic.

He said: “I was surprised when I found out there was no longer a fracture clinic in Bodmin, given all the investments that have recently gone into the Bodmin Hospital site as part of efforts to make a wider range of services accessible across Cornwall to reduce the strain on the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

“That being said, I was very impressed with the new minor injury unit, which was clean, modern, has all the necessary diagnostic equipment and despite a sign time stating a wait of an hour when we visited, we were seen in about ten minutes. It’s just unfortunate that there’s no longer any follow up facilities such as a fracture clinic, which you’d think would be helpful.”

A spokesperson for Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust confirmed that the clinic had been removed from Bodmin Hospital owing to staffing and accessibility issues. They said: “The Bodmin fracture clinic was closed at the end of October 2023 due to staffing challenges and the unsuitability of the site for patients with mobility issues. The capacity of the St Austell fracture clinic was increased to cater for the increase of patients from the Bodmin area. There are also fracture clinics at Liskeard, Truro, Newquay and Penzance.”

It is understood that part of the accessibility issues relates to a requirement to use the stairs to access the clinic on the first floor at the hospital, with the nearest accessible lift a distance away from the now-former clinic’s location.