Plan to merge eight Shrewsbury GP surgeries 'represents significant investment'
A health boss has insisted merging eight GP surgeries in Shrewsbury to form one large hub aims to address issues including rising patient demand, an ageing population and recruitment.
Proposals to form a Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub have been met with concern that doctors' practices may close and people will lose access to a GP.
Councillor Bernie Bentick wrote to the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group to call for clarity on location, GP numbers and an open consultation.
Now Dr Charlotte Hart, a GP and the clinical lead for the health hub project, has written an open letter in reply.
She insists the proposals represent a "substantial investment" in GP services in Shrewsbury, and also hinted that Meole Brace could be the location for the hub.
Dr Hart said: "The potential for a Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub is an exciting opportunity to secure further investment into health and care services locally and improve services for patients and residents. The proposals represent a substantial additional investment for GP provision in Shrewsbury.
"The development would introduce a model of care which aims to address the current issues faced in general practice. These include rising patient demand, an ageing population with more needs, increasing patient numbers, and the recruitment and retention of staff when there are national shortages.
"As would be normal in a scheme like this, we are currently in negotiations with a number of landowners over potential location. Our exploratory work is focused in the Meole Brace area of Shrewsbury at present. We are seeking to pursue options that provide good access and represent value for money for the taxpayer. Due to the commercial nature of this work we are unable to provide further detail at this time but we will share more details when we are able."
Dr Hart added: "Alongside the scoping work looking at potential locations, an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) will be carried out in the next phase of the project to determine the impact the Hub’s potential location could have on local patients and residents, and what we could do to mitigate any potential impact.
"The IIA will be completed to ensure any plans can minimise the impact on vulnerable patient groups.
"We will continue to engage with patients and residents over the coming months and throughout the development process to ensure we co-design the service. We intend to conduct a public consultation in due course. Information about how people can input to the consultation will be widely circulated by all of the partners involved in the project and will be shared via the local media.
"The first engagement exercise provided us with an important insight into local people’s views on current GP services and how a Hub might benefit patients. Further consultation and engagement work will build on this as we develop further work to reach the wider community, in particular with seldom heard groups."
The health hub move, which would affect 65,000 patients, would involve Mytton Oak Surgery, Radbrook Green Surgery, The Beeches Medical Practice, Claremont Bank Surgery, Belvidere Medical Practice, Marden Medical Practice, Marysville Medical Practice and South Hermitage Surgery.
