Patients blast ‘bonkers’ decision to close GP surgery
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
Patients have blasted the “bonkers” decision to close their local GP surgery with no clear explanation about why, and have said that other practices in the area are already “at capacity”.
The Clover Health Centre in Woolwich New Road, Greenwich, will be closing later this year, according to the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB), which said it was being regularly reviewed and they decided not to renew the current contract when it ends.
The group, which includes local authorities and the NHS health services in South-east London, said in a statement on May 15 that the Clover Health Centre was expected to close at the end of September.
Russell Clarke, who owns the space in Equitable House that the surgery is based in, said he was “astonished” by the ICB’s decision to close the practice.
He said that the surgery had been in the building for the past 11 years and he decision seemed “bonkers” given the 5,400 patients registered at the practice.
Mr Clarke said: “From a humane point of view, the health centre that was here was dealing with people that didn’t have a voice, a lot of people that were homeless, immigrants, and migrants because it’s a town centre.
“It’s a waste of money and I can’t see it being good for the NHS financially. I can’t say it’s good for the patients.”
The Greenwich Local Medical Committee said in a statement that they disagreed with the decision to not extend the practice’s contract and to disperse the list of patients. The group of GPs said that the move would add “significant additional pressures” to other practices in the borough.
The South East London ICB said in a statement that a process to find a new provider for Clover Health Centre was not viable given the “small” patient list size. They said that fewer than 2,000 of the current patients live within a mile of the health centre.
They said: “We are confident in the capacity of Greenwich GP practices to accommodate the increased number of patients. They have expressed their willingness to take on this responsibility.”
Greenwich council was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
Pictured top: A view of the building Clover Health Centre is based in, Equitable House, from General Gordon Square (Picture: Google Earth)
