Patients have been urged to write to Health
Secretary Jeremy Hunt to help prevent the closure of their GP practice in
Accrington.
NHS England is currently reviewing the contract for
the small GP surgery at Accrington Victoria Hospital, which has about 1,800
patients. The surgery’s Patient Participation Group [PPG] fears the facility
will be axed, and launched a campaign earlier this month to persuade health
bosses to maintain the service.
The average GP surgery has about 6,000 patients,
but NHS England insists no decision has been made. Patrick McGinley, a
spokesman for the PPG, said the group has now secured an extended deadline for people
to have their say, after the NHS initially asked for surveys to be returned by 19
February. He has now urged patients to make their
representations to NHS England by the end of March, while also encouraging
people to write to the Department of Health and local politicians.
Mr McGinley said the closure of the
practice would impact on other surgeries in the borough. As it would result in
its patients being ‘shared out’ among other GPs in Hyndburn. He therefore urged
patients throughout the borough to join the campaign, warning: “This would
increase your already ridiculous waiting times of up to 14 days in some
surgeries.” He also said that he wants as many people as possible to write to Mr
Hunt and NHS England, as well as Hyndburn MP Graham Jones and also the Leader of Hyndburn Council.
NHS England said the current contract for
the surgery expires in October, and the review is a standard procedure to
consider how best to provide care.
The move has run alongside a separate
review by East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group into primary care in
Hyndburn. The review is likely to lead to budget cuts for the Health Access
Centre at the Accrington Victoria, which offers a GP walk-in service.
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