‘Overwhelming’ response to proposed closure of Birtle View Medical Practice

Patients and residents fill Birtle View Medical Practice for the meeting with more waiting outside

The response at a public meeting about the proposed closure of Birtle View Medical Practice in Heywood was “overwhelming”.

Concerned patients and residents filled the medical centre on Monday evening to show their support for the practice, in an attempt to stop any closure going ahead.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/98519/birtle-view-medical-centre-facing-closure

Due to the response, the meeting had to be split into two smaller groups to ensure that all of those in attendance could have their say. Before this decision was made, patients and residents had already filled the waiting room and were waiting outside to try and get in.

Birtle View Medical Practice opened nearly six years ago and is located on the site of the former Birtle View School on George Street, Heywood. The practice currently has a patient list of just over 2,000.

It is now recommended that the practice closes due to the patient size list. When the practice was opened it was built to accommodate 6,000 patients, but has not reached its expected list size. The service is now undertaking a four week consultation period with patients, residents and stakeholders to find out their views.

Speaking at the meeting, patients using the practice raised their concerns about losing the much loved practice.

One patient said: “The surrounding GPs can’t cope. They are taking patients on for the money and that is all it is about. They can’t provide the care.”

Another said: “I left a practice in June to come here and the practice I left had 15,000 patients on their list. You would have to ring for four days to get an appointment and even then, you were told after 9am ‘it’s too late now’. At one point I asked what I was supposed to do because my husband was ill and I was told to ‘go to the walk in centre’. I don’t understand how you can close this practice.”

Another added: “You have to wait for three weeks for an appointment at some places. I left a surgery that was telling me it was three weeks for an appointment and came here. Small practices like this are more personal. At group practices you are just a number.”

The CCG were clear to explain that despite current concerns over appointment waits, from December there will be access to appointments seven days a week and during evenings and weekend at four sites across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

Some patients were frustrated that they only found out about the meeting at the last minute and were concerned that some people may not have attended due to not knowing.

One lady said: “I only found out because my neighbour told me. I haven’t had a letter explaining what is going on. We should have known about this months ago and not a few days ago.”

Those using the service are keen to increase the patient list as a way of stopping the practice from closing and questioned why Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) can’t disperse patients from other surgeries to Birtle View.

One patient asked: “If you can disperse us to other practices, why can’t you disperse some of the larger list numbers here to stop this closing?”

Kate Hudson, Head of Primary Care at the CCG, was keen to stress that at the minute no final decision on closing the practice had been made and that all comments and feedback would be listened to.

She said: “We have received the message loud and clear that you don’t want to this practice to close and we are listening to that. No decision has been made and this is only a recommendation. We accept that the patients want the surgery to stay and I know that myself and my colleagues from the CCG and NHS England will take all of this feedback on board.

“It is clear that there has been an overwhelming response and we can’t ignore that. This shows that you have strong feelings about this practice and we will take back the comments you have made, as well as the pile of feedback forms and will take them into consideration when writing our report.”

A final decision on the plans will be made at a meeting on 24 November 2015.

A public meeting in relation to the closure of Middleton Walk-in Centre will take place this evening (Tuesday 20 October) at Masonic Hall starting at 6.30pm. A meeting regarding plans for Kingsway Medical Practice will take place on Tuesday 27 October at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Rochdale, starting at 6.30pm.