Medical centre closure concern
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HEALTHWATCH Halton has expressed concern over the announcement that Windmill Hill Medical Centre is to close on March 31.
The health and social care consumer group said the closure might cause inconvenience and difficulties for patients.
Matthew Roberts, Healthwatch Halton manager, said one of the main concerns is over whether there is capacity to absorb the impact of the move.
He said the closest practices to Windmill Hill are already stretched without having to accommodate a further 2,000 patients.
Last week NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) announced that the doctors’ surgery is to close on March 31 when Liverpool Community Healthcare’s contract expires.
The CCG said a procurement process to find someone to take over the practice was ‘unsuccessful’.
A spokeswoman cited a national issue with a shortage of general practitioners (GP) as a factor.
According to NHS Choices, the surgery serves 2,378 patients.
Mr Roberts said: “We regularly hear the experiences of local people about difficulties and delays in securing GP appointments.
“We wonder just how close we are to reaching a tipping point where the system will not be able to cope.
“The proposals in the NHS Sustainability And Transformation Plan for Cheshire and Merseyside rely on more diagnosis and treatment being provided by local GPs.
“But we are seeing a system that struggles to meet current demand and seems ill-equipped to meet increasing demand in the future.”
He added: “We are extremely pleased to see that NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS England have acted promptly to arrange several drop-in sessions to enable patients to discuss their concerns directly. “We would encourage patients who are effected to use this opportunity to have their say.
“Healthwatch Halton would be delighted to work closely with the NHS locally to ensure that those people affected can get advice on any immediate problems they have accessing GP services and are advised how to re-register with another practice.
“We are keen to provide evidence to the NHS about people’s individual experiences of this closure and we encourage people to contact us and share their experiences on 0300 777 6543 or by using our online patient feedback centre, http://bit. ly/windmillgp” 10.30am