This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Closure of North End Surgery

Story from nhs.uk

"Closure of North End Surgery"

About: The Swan Practice

I am a patient registered with the Swan Practice. Whilst walking down Verney Close recently I was surprised to see a yellow planning notice adjacent to the surgery saying the planning authority has received a planning application "for the demolition of existing development and erection of 1 residential building comprising 6 flats, off street parking, bin storage and bicycle storage". Given that on the very rare occasion when I have been granted an urgent same day appointment it is always at Verney Close rather than at North End where I am registered. So, what impact is this application going to have? When will the Verney Close surgery be closing and what if anything will replace it? I would have expected to see something on the practice website about this but it is silent on this important point. I cannot imagine that the covid-19 crisis is preventing you from doing this as you are more or less closed to all patients now so far as I can see. You must surely have plenty of time to let patients know this very important bit of information.

I am also very concerned that there has been no news on the annual flu vaccinations yet (and I am in a vulnerable category) I got one all booked up with Boots the Chemists in Buckingham on 13th August. If they can deal with it so efficiently, I wonder why you are not able?

More about:
nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from The Swan Practice 3 years ago
The Swan Practice

Submitted on 01/09/2020 at 09:12
Published on nhs.uk at 09:14

Thank you for your comment.

In relation to the building there have been plans to move the majority of our services to a larger premises on Lace Hill. These plans have been discussed widely for the last 4+ years. These plans have been communicated via the Patient Participation Group, Town Council and a Focus Group which have met on numerous occasions. The buildings we have in the town are not compliant with regulations, cannot be extended and are too small for our growing population and our workforce. We are working with Bucks Council and other stakeholders on retaining some space in the town for a town centre GP presence for those who cannot (for mobility reasons) make the journey to the planned new centre at Lace Hill. We have no firm dates for this and yet we know it will be at least 2 years away once all approvals are received.

With regards to flu planning we have communicated via the website, the facebook page and on the electronic screens in the practice that we plan to be proving flu jabs from September. We have never been able to receive vaccine stocks in August due to the numbers needed, we plan to vaccinate around 10,000 people this year, so naturally we have to manage this appropriately. Last year we planned and dated our clinics and they all had to be changed due to stock not arriving. Once we have the stock physically received we will firm up our dates for clinics and we hope this will be the second week in September. I am glad you have booked your flu jab, and we are happy that the chemists can provide these, but they do not work on the scale we have to.

Kind regards

Debbie Ratu

Business manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k