Dwindling patient numbers could seal surgery’s fate
AGEING BUILDING AND RISING COSTS ADDING TO LAUNCH OF CONSULTATION
AN “ageing” Lincolnshire surgery is facing closure due to myriad reasons, including rising costs and low patient use. The partners at Brant Road and Springcliffe GP Surgery have launched a lengthy consultation to potentially shut the Springcliffe surgery in St Catherine’s in Lincoln.
It will run until February 22 next year and a final decision will be made shortly after. In a letter to patients posted in late November, the management said that several factors had led to the “difficult decision” being made.
The first is the ageing infrastructure, which has been the cause of
“ongoing maintenance issues” and prompted concerns for patients’ safety and comfort. The number of patients has also decreased.
Most prefer to use the Brant Road site due to a “wider range of services and better facilities”, including parking, the management says. This has been coupled with rising costs, with the branch becoming “financially unsustainable”.
Those in charge are worried that unnecessary expenditure is putting the entire practice at risk. The final reason given is that a lack of disabled access upstairs means the Springcliffe surgery is “not fit for purpose” as a modern clinic nor is it compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
The proposed closure would give patients access to a wider range of services, the management added. They wrote: “Under this proposal, all current clinical and non-clinical staff will continue and be based at the main surgery on Brant Road.
“There are no plans for any reduction of existing services, we are hoping that, as services develop, we will be able to offer additional services to better meet the needs of the patient population.” The senior partners involved said had been discussing it with the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board for ‘several months’.
There will be three engagement events held over the next couple of months, giving patients a chance to discuss the plans in detail. The first will be held at the Brant Road clinic between 6pm and 8pm on Thursday, December 14.
The next two will be held at the
Springcliffe site, between 2pm and 4pm on Friday, January 12 and again between 10am and 12pm on Wednesday, February 14. The outcome of the consultation exercise will be included in the proposal to the board.
If the closure is approved, then registered patients will receive care from the sister site in Brant Road. In the latest Care Quality Commission report, published in 2016, the practice was rated “good” overall.
It was said to look after just shy of 7,200 patients.
IAM regular at Belton House. I don’t live too far away, I go to the e park run all the time, and as a family we’ve been to the house e and wooden playground on n many occasions. But once it gets a bit cold, muddy y and grim, my visits dwindle. Who o wants to ride the mini train with an n ice cream when it’s 1 degrees C?
Luckily as well as being a fan of the e summer refreshments on offer, I am m also hugely into Christmas and d especially the opportunity to get my y winter woolies on and enjoy some e fun lights.
Before I get into my full review of f the Christmas lights trail at Belton n House, I need to talk about the refur- bished car park. This is important t because you’re paying £10 on top of the ticket price to park by the house and I need to let you all know that the car park has been resurfaced and is a total pleasure to drive around.
If you’ve visited Belton before, you will have carefully negotiated the wibbly wobbly grass and winced as your suspension crunches around the huge muddy dips. Pulling into Belton on Friday night, I admired the smooth new car park surface, the supermarket-like rows of cars in designated rows and the amazing lighting. I was already enjoying myself (yes I’m in my forties - don’t judge me).
So, onto the main event. Gliding out of the car I was already thinking there was no need for the wellies we were all wearing. The people organising this event have improved it year on year and as well as the car park now being wonderfully smooth and welldrained, the path from the car park to the start of the trail was covered in plastic boarding and was a joy to walk over.
There were many families with buggies and wheelchair users who seemed to find it easy to navigate too. Before you start the trail, there are some traditional fairground rides and food stalls in the courtyard next to the main house. Plenty of chance for a festive hot chocolate or crepe.
The trail itself was hugely impressive and the light displays are