Realisation of the seriousness of the issue prompted a swift turnaround in support from a council leader to help Sutton near Ely as they woke to news their GP surgery was to close.
On February 23, Cllr Anna Bailey, leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, had this to say to followers of a Facebook group in the nearby village of Witcham where the closure of Priors Field surgery at Sutton was being discussed.
“I’m not actually the councillor for Witcham anymore, as the boundaries changed in 2019,” she responded to one comment.
“I see you have tagged Lorna (Dupre) who is your councillor together with Mark Inskip.
“So sorry to hear about this – really awful to lose a village GP service.”
But one villager was having none of it.
He responded to Cllr Bailey: “You are the leader of the district council though – and often post political views on various village sites that you aren’t the councillor for – so why not actually offer to help alongside the ward councillor?
“It is not just Sutton issues – the one remaining GP partner at Haddenham left – so I understand it is being covered by a partner from Soham. The local NHS is not in a good place.”
By Monday Cllr Bailey had moved to publicly support those opposed to the closure.
Weekend chat with MP Steve Barclay
“I have managed to speak with Steve Barclay (the local MP) over the weekend between many meetings he had to attend. Steve is very concerned about the situation and is working to clear space in his diary,” she said.
“I have also spoken with Lucy Frazer (the MP for SE Cambs).
“Everyone is concerned, primarily for Sutton practice patients, as well as the impact of dispersing nearly 6,000 patients onto other practices.”
She said: “This morning I have spoken to a senior management officer in the Cambridgeshire NHS system.
“There are a number of pieces of work going on to see what solutions can be found. I’m sorry I can’t say more at this time, but I wanted to assure residents that everyone involved is totally focused and looking for positive outcomes if at all possible.”
Cllr Bailey oversaw a press release from East Cambridgeshire District Council on February 24 – the day after she had directed villagers at Witcham to their ward councillors.
Council expresses it concern at closure
The council said it was “urgently looking into the announced closure of the GP practice at Priors Field on 31 March 2023”.
In a statement the council said: “We understand this is due to the current GPs retiring and the practice being unable to find new doctors who want to take on the surgery.
“While we expect to be formally notified of the closure by the NHS on Monday, we are concerned about the impact on residents and the speed at which it is happening.
“The council has already contacted Stephen Barclay, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire, which includes Sutton, to ask him urgently to look into the issue.”
Cllr Bailey added her thoughts to the council press statement.
“We all know the NHS is a stretched resource and I am extremely concerned about the impact of the closure of the GP practice on residents,” she said.
“Fenland Group Practice, which runs the surgery, and NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough are committed to ensuring all patients have access to high quality GP services and care in the future and our understanding is that they are working to provide a smooth transition for patients to an alternative GP practice.
Accessing new service
“However, it is inevitable that many village residents who use the surgery and do not have easy access to a vehicle will be concerned about which new GP practice they are being allocated to, whether and how they have a say in that, and how they will access their new service.
“With stretched local resources, I am also very concerned about the effect of taking on large numbers of new patients on other GP practices.”
“GPs are independent practices and while we as a council, cannot affect the decisions of the Fenland Group Practice we are doing everything we can to raise this at the highest level of Government and we are also exploring any other community support we can provide.”
NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough announced today that it remained “committed to ensuring all patients have access to high quality GP services and care, now and in the future”.
In a statement about the Priors Field surgery closure it said: “We are continuing to work to find a primary care solution that meets the needs of local people.”
NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said an additional face to face public meeting to discuss Priors Field Surgery will be held by NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough on Thursday 9 March at 6.30pm – 7.30pm at Sutton Primary School.
It also revealed that the venue of a meeting on Tuesday March 7 – originally scheduled for the surgery and later moved to the pavilion at Brooklands Hall – had now moved to the main hall itself.
That meeting starts at 10am.
Their statement added: “All meetings will provide the opportunity for local people to ask any questions about the changes and to discuss how we can work together to consider how primary care services could be delivered in the future for the people of Sutton and the surrounding areas.”
Tuesday 7 March 2023
- Public meeting 1: 10am – 11 am, Brooklands Village Hall, Sutton, CB6 2QQ
- Online public meeting 2: Online meeting: 6pm – 7pm, join via online via MS Teams.
Thursday 9 March 2023
- Public meeting 3: Public meeting: 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Sutton Primary School, Sutton, CB6 2PU
There is no need to book in advance for any of the meetings.
Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – a patients ‘watchdog’ – said today it was concerned by the closure “and the subsequent reallocation of 6,000 people to surrounding GP practices”.
Their statement said: “We are working closely with colleagues at the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to advise on public engagement and communications.
“However, the closure of such a large rural practice has serious implications for the people of Sutton, especially those who are older, have long term conditions and/or do not have access to their own transport.
“We are calling on the ICB to secure the provision of at least a branch surgery in Sutton and work with other local authorities to enhance the local transport offer, including community transport and Dial-A-Ride.
“We are hopeful that some solutions can be found that will reduce the worst impact on local people.”
2,000 people have signed a petition begun by Cllr Dupre to retain the surgery
https://www.change.org/p/save-gp-services-at-priors-field-sutton-ely?source_location=search
