Couverture de Meeting to Discuss Closure of Evington GP Surgery on The Common

Meeting to Discuss Closure of Evington GP Surgery on The Common

Meeting to Discuss Closure of Evington GP Surgery on The Common

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 A meeting was held this morning at Evington Home, Pilgrim Gardens to discuss the impact of the closure of Evington’s GP surgery on The Common. The decision has sparked concern about the impact on vulnerable people in Evington. Councillor Zuffar Haq called a meeting with residents, representatives of the NHS, Leicester City Council and other local politicians. The concerns raised included: Community Impact: Residents are concerned about the loss of essential services which will significantly affect elderly, disabled, or disadvantaged community members. The relocation of the GP surgery, pharmacy, and Post Office is seen by some as “sucking the heart out of the community”, potentially leading to reduced footfall affecting local businesses. This has led to sentiments of the village “closing down” as expressed by locals. Reasons for Closure: The St Elizabeth’s Medical Centre, which runs the surgery, cited that the owner of the building is looking to sell the site as the reason for the proposed move to their main site two miles away. They believe this relocation will allow them to improve the quality of care provided to all patients. Public and Local Government Response: There has been some engagement with local governance, where a resident attempted to seek help from Sir Peter Soulsby, the city mayor, but was referred to the local integrated care board (ICB) for further action, indicating limited local political influence over these commercial decisions. Rob Watson PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT THE PROPOSED CLOSURE OF DOCTORS SURGERY ON THE COMMON EVINGTON, LEICESTER. Wednesday 4th December 10.30am at Pilgrim Gardens, Grocot Road, Evington, Leicester LE5 6AL Following many residents contacting Cllr. Zuffar Haq about this closure and the loss of the Pharmacy in Evington Village, Cllr. Haq decided to call a Public Meeting to listen to their concerns. Present: Concerned users of the surgery. This was done as well as possible without a full list of patients using the surgery. People were contacted through word of mouth, email, what’s app. groups and some leafletting. A representative group of about 20 users came to the meeting. 2 local councillors for Evington. Cllr. Zuffar Haq (Chair) and Cllr. Deepak Bajaj 2 representatives from MPs Shivani Raja (Leicester East) and from MP Shockat Adam (Leicester South). 2 other councillors from Leicester City Council including Cllr. Sarah Russell, Deputy City Mayor for Social Care, Health and Community Safety. 2 representatives from Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (ICB). Rachna Vyas, Deputy Chief Executive ICB and Dr. Sulaxni Nainani GP Deputy Chief Medical Officer ICB 2 community reporters from the Evington Echo, Rob Watson and Helen Pettman ITV and BBC both sent two reporters After about 10 minutes of the start of the meeting there were between 30 and 40 people present. Cllr. Haq asked residents to explain their concerns. More than one resident explained that with this Surgery Branch closed, they would need to travel to Netherhall (St. Elizabeth’s Medical Centre) which would involve catching two buses and up to a two hour journey each way, even though the direct route in a car would be two and a half miles. The Downing Drive surgery is about 1 mile away, and one bus ride from Evington, but residents explained that they had previously applied for this surgery and were told they weren’t in the catchment area, or that the surgery was full. About five residents explained the medical conditions they had which made the change difficult. A show of hands confirmed that residents were very happy with the services they had received at The Common branch surgery. Cllr. Zuffar Haq confirmed that he was there to represent the many elderly people who live in Evington, who were concerned about the loss of their surgery, many of whom live alone. Other residents explained their concerns about getting repeat prescriptions and as a carer of a surgery user, getting on the bus with a wheelchair. Residents also said that there was only a few days notice of closure and that this didn’t give them enough time to find alternative doctors. Without a doctor and a pharmacy in Evington Village they felt abandoned. Rachna Vyas from the Integrated Care Board said that in March ’24, they received news that the building was to be sold. In June ’24 they launched a consultation which notified all users that the surgery would be closed by the end of December. This consultation was circulated extensively through email, text, notices in the surgery and to between 800 and 900 people. The consultation finished in Oct. ’24, they said. She said only 38 users had given a negative opinion about the closure. She explained that the surgery was not fit for purpose with no fire escape. She said many patients were going elsewhere. Both ICB representatives went on to explain that the system was, in ...
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