Instead an alternative service is proposed which will operate between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

At this month's meeting of Forfar Community Council, members heard reports of fears the unit was to close which would affect those patients seeking "out of hours" care.

However, community councillor Freda Napier stated the rumours were probably connected to the changes to the out of hours service overnight care in north Angus which will be piloted in Forfar, Brechin, Kirriemuir and Montrose from June 2008.

She explained: "The unit is not to close - at the moment when you phone NHS 24 you are told to go to Whitehills.

"Between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. there will be a number which you will phone and staff from Whitehills will visit you in your own home.

"Calls will be prioritised. For instance, if an elderly person has fallen, staff will go out from Whitehills and assess the patient to see if they need a doctor; if the patient has to go to Ninewells they will be able to process the patient right into a ward so they don't have to go to Ninewells' Accident and Emergency.

"Parents of a child with a high temperature do not have to take their child out in the middle of the night.

"It is felt this will provide a better service but it does not mean the Minor Injuries Unit will close."

At their meeting the previous month, members heard that Freda, along with community councillors George Coghill and June Smith, attended an open meeting at Whitehills called by the Angus Community Health Partnership regarding the pilot scheme for overnight care in north Angus.

They heard the new proposals would mean people would no longer have to attend the Minor Injuries Unit if "out of hours" care was required.

Reporting back to community councillors after that meeting last month, Mrs Napier said: "The proposal is that, from June, if care is asked for it will be provided in the person's home by highly skilled and trained mobile staff and paramedics in the first instance who will be empowered to prescribe, if necessary, or order a doctor to attend or arrange hospitalisation.

"In the case of hospitalisation it would be un-necessary for the person to be admitted to A & E in Ninewells Hospital - they would go straight to the relevant ward.

"This would not only benefit the person but would also alleviate congestion at Ninewells' A & E."

Well received

If successful, the scheme may be rolled out across other areas of Angus and Tayside. It had already been well received in Fife.

Some members felt the scheme would only be as good as the person on the end of the telephone.

There were also concerns that some people, including those with mental health problems, may have difficulty explaining on the telephone what their symptoms were.

Susan Wilson, General Manager, Angus CHP said: "The Minor Injury Units in Angus are some of the most highly skilled and well utilised of their type nationally and we are very proud to have them and are totally committed to their continuation.

"However, we are always looking for ways to further improve our services and in this respect we have looked at the numbers of patients utilising the Minor Injuries Services overnight from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. in the Forfar, Brechin and Montrose Units.

"This amounts to an average total of five to six patients per night across all three units. This is not good use of skilled nursing time when we could use these skills at other much busier times.

"We therefore looked at a scheme which has been run very successfully in Fife called "See n' Treat". This provides an alternative service whereby a nurse and a paramedic will come to you instead.

"During this overnight period, vulnerable people like older people and mothers with young children will not have to make their way to the Minor Injuries Unit. We will come to you.

"The added benefit of this service is we will also be able to target those with non-life threatening conditions who call an ambulance, which would usually result in patients being taken to Ninewells.

"Under this new type of visiting service we know we will be able to reduce as many as 800 admissions to Ninewells from these areas, as appropriate assessment and treatment from the See n' Treat Team can be delivered locally and linked into local services.

"This is a good improvement and has been warmly welcomed by the three focus groups in local areas who have helped us further shape and improve the model, including taking into account the needs of people with mental health problems and dementia.

"Access to the new overnight See n' Treat service will be via the usual NHS 24 or Ambulance routes and we would urge people to use these as it enables us to get the right services to you.

"Although the Whitehills Minor Injury Unit is technically 'shut down' during this alternative service period, anyone who does attend will be received by a nurse from the Centre and attended to by the mobile See n' Treat Team.

"We aim to begin the scheme in June following extensive information to the local communities, and we will be closely monitoring the satisfaction with the service by the patients and their families."