New clinic needed now says councillor
A Perthshire councillor has said health bosses need to push on with plans to create a new health centre in Bridge of Earn which can accept new patients as surgeries currently serving the town continue to fill up.
Almond and Earn councillor Henry Anderson said the community has heard nothing from NHS Tayside since the health board decided to shelve plans to create a new and improved GP practice near the town’s Dunkirk Park to cater for his constituency’s growing population.
Perth and Kinross Council granted NHS Tayside planning permission for the new surgery back in 2014 but the PA has learned the health board then belatedly decided last year it would “not Councillor Henry Anderson represent good value for money” in its proposed location.
Councillor Anderson said the last he had heard was that NHS Tayside was supposedly scouting for other suitable locations to create the new health centre – but added that the community was still in the dark as to what other options have been looked at so far.
With two major new housing developments lined up near the town at Kintillo and Oudenarde, Councillor Anderson said NHS Tayside needs to reveal what its plans are soon.
He told the PA: “There’s a feeling [in the community] the current practice is not fit for purpose. We now need a decent health clinic.
“We’ve got 80 houses being built in Kintillo ... and there’s a strong possibility Oudenarde is going to start with another 159 houses.
“If all these people are [going to be] looking to sign up with a local doctor, that’s going to be a massive issue.
“We have had no clarity on what’s happening [with the new health centre]. We should be getting told what the [other] options are. We are desperate for some dialogue with NHS Tayside.”
Asked to respond to Councillor Anderson’s remarks a spokesperson for the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (PKHSCP) said yesterday: “We remain committed to the provision of new premises to provide GP and community services to patients in Bridge of Earn and we are working with PKC to support the needs of the patient population.
“In late 2016, the Capital Scrutiny Group of NHS Tayside agreed that a full costing exercise be undertaken in relation to a new build in Bridge of Earn.
“It was concluded that the new facility as proposed would not represent good value for money at the estimated cost. We continue to review available buildings and accommodation for improved GP premises in various areas around Perth and Kinross, including Bridge of Earn.
“We are currently working on an options appraisal for the practice, PKHSCP and NHS Tayside to consider.”