Telford GP surgery closure plans face delay

Teldoc plan to close sites at Aqueduct, Highfield and Lightmoor and establish a call-handling patient navigation centre for the six that remain – a move they say will make appointment booking easier and free up clinical rooms and at least 60 more appointments.

Telford and Wrekin CCG’s Primary Care Commissioning chair, Peter Eastaugh, said he didn’t want to risk approving the nine-branch network’s business case without considering the formal remarks of the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee, even though they were expected to be supportive.

The committee also heard allegations from the cabinet member responsible for health that Teldoc’s consultation took a “dismissive attitude” towards patient concerns.

Teldoc business and operations manager Nakash Lewis said the practice had written to all 1,800 of its patients and recevied 150 responses. She said this was “quite a good response”, and other engagement exercises had received only half that.

Of the respondents, 54 per cent said they were “not concerned” about the closure of Aqueduct Surgery, while 65 and 76 per cent said the same about Lightmoor Surgery and Highfield Clinic respectively.

CCG chair Jo Leahy said Telford and Wrekin cabinet member Andy Burford had told her his constituents were “distressed” by the Aqueduct closure, “especially since, at the moment, they are able to walk there under their own steam, and they won’t be able to do that going forward”.

Document

Dr Leahy added: “I made the point about it being an outdated building, but he wanted to make sure you know, and also that some of the patients who fed back to the practice had felt their feedback wasn’t taken seriously and there was a dismissive attitude.”

A document before the committee, titled Teldoc – Estate Rationalisation / Patient Engagement CCG Assurance Checklist, noted that CCG Primary Care Head Corrine Ralph attended a meeting of the council’s Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee last month.

“Whilst the meeting went well, and the feedback at the time was in support, no formal feedback has been received,” it added.

“Feedback has been requested by the practice and CCG.”

Mr Eastaugh told Ms Lewis, Teldoc chair Ian Chan and vice-chair Rashpal Bachu the committee they didn’t want to make a decision without that formal feedback.

He said: “That should be available within a couple of weeks.”

Mr Evans added: “We wouldn’t want to approve it today for the committee to come back and say you haven’t consulted widely enough.

“My guess is they aren’t going to be critical of the level of engagement.”

Mr Eastaugh said: “If they come back and say yes, this committee is quite happy to sign it off as it is.

“If they say no, I suppose we start from scratch.”