I refer to the excellent article "Ill-Advised" by Hardeep Matharu (edition of 17. July).

I only found out about this matter when I read a letter a few weeks ago in the Guardian from another concerned patient (John Geleit in the edition of 3. July). As you can imagine, I was somewhat shocked when I read that the present surgery building could be closed down on the grounds that it is too small and not fit for purpose. Both my family and myself have been most happy with the treatment and care we have received at the surgery since moving here over 2 years ago and would be devastated if we had to be moved to another doctor's list.

In order to discover the real facts of the matter, I personally talked with our MP (Mr Chris Grayling) and my doctor at the surgery, Dr. Andrew Sharpe. It seems that the local NHS Surrey and Sussex Area Team, which is responsible for paying the rent on whatever premises the surgery occupies (and NOT the GPs of the surgery themselves), has dragged its feet on the business case for moving to the much more suitable location in The Parade. This case has been under consideration for 2 years already, a delay which is in itself quite scandalous, and the developers of the proposed new site are naturally getting restless, as your article pointed out.

At the conclusion of my meeting with Mr Grayling, he offered to approach the NHS team once more to get a decision one way or the other. I anxiously await developments, along with all the other patients of the surgery. However, I agree with Mr Geleit that Mr Grayling should be pulling out all the stops to remove outright the threat of closure to the practice and I am not convinced he is doing so.

If the site is sold on or rented out to another business or as residential accommodation, then the days of the current surgery are numbered, as at some point the Care & Quality Commission (CQC) will conduct an inspection and may restrict the services that the surgery offers, which then causes the practice to collapse financially and close. The Department of Health has recently announced yet more powers for the CQC, with the future ability to put general practice into "special measures". If any of these situations were to happen to the Ashley Centre Surgery, it would undoubtedly bring about its closure within a short space of time.

Given that the purported objective of the Department of Health is to concentrate more effort and resource on primary care (i.e. GP surgeries) in order to relieve the pressure on hard-pressed hospitals and sensibly to focus on the prevention rather than the cure of illness, it seems madness to allow a very effective and much-loved practice like that of the Ashley Centre Surgery to go to the wall just because of bureaucratic bumbling and indecision.

Richard Baker

Stamford Ward Residents Association

 

 


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