Telford GP surgery 'needs extra room'

Dawley Medical Practice is applying to take over three rooms in its building that are owned but currently unused by a separate NHS trust.

Health commissioners will consider their proposal today.

Practice manager Nicki Mott writes that one of the existing rooms at the 11,000-patient practice has been designated a Covid-19 “hot room” and a second may be required over the winter, leaving “absolutely no flexibility” elsewhere.

If approved, the expansion will cost just over £13,000 a year in extra rent, but could save £26,000 by reducing A&E attendances, she adds.

Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group’s Primary Care Commissioning Committee will discuss the proposal when it meets remotely today.

“The current GMS [general medical services] space is in reasonable order and meets the majority of current standards in relation to infection control and access,” Mrs Mott writes.

“However, there is room for improvement internally with regard to carpeting in consultation areas. The practice hopes very much to address this in the future when it has space to upgrade these rooms, as, currently, the practice does not have the capacity to take a room out of action for any time to enable such work.”

Dawley Medical Practice, which opened in 2002 and is housed in Webb House, on King Street, Dawley, has seven consulting rooms, a treatment room and the “hot room”, all providing space for 80 “clinical sessions” a week, including 30 nursing and 26 GP sessions.

“A further four GP sessions are provided by GPs from the staff meeting room, a non-clinical room, and two nursing team sessions are done via telephone from an admin desk,” Mrs Mott adds.

“These sessions used to be provided in a clinical room, but the need to create a standalone hot room for Covid has meant that the practice has effectively lost a clinical room with 10 sessions a week.

“The practice therefore currently has absolutely no flexibility with regard to rooms, and in addition no current capacity to improve the existing downstairs consultation rooms, as it cannot afford to take a room out of action to improve.”

As well as bidding to use the Shropshire Community Health Trust rooms, the practice is also planning to make use of three rooms that were previously used for dental consultations. Mrs Mott notes that the refit of these rooms has already been approved, and the work is due to be completed in December.

“Until the ex-dental space is back in GMS, the practice is also unable to prepare a further hot room if needed during the winter period, should Covid resurge,” she adds.