Future of village’s under-threat GP surgery is secured

THE FUTURE of a doctor’s surgery has been secured after a GP practice in a neighbouring West Yorkshire village won a contract to take it over.

Swillington Health Practice will be under new management from November after a new provider was found by NHS bosses in Leeds. It will become a branch surgery of nearby Oulton Medical Centre.

The Swillington practice was at risk of closure after Grange Medicare pulled out of running it, along with New Cross Surgery in Rothwell and Middleton Park Surgery, after its contract ends in October. Fears were raised that elderly and disabled people would be left with too far to travel for appointments if the surgery closed.

In February, NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) agreed to keep all three surgeries open after a public consultation was held. Now Oulton Medical Centre will take over the Swillington surgery from November 1 after being appointed by CCG bosses.

New providers are yet to be found for the Rothwell and Middleton surgeries.

Jacqui Smith, who chairs the Swillington surgery’s Patient Representative Group, said: “This seems to be good news on the face of it.

“The Oulton practice has a good reputation.”

Grange Medicare has held the contract to run the three surgeries since 2008.