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MP Kawczynski backs medical practice campaign
Wednesday 19th October 2011, 7:03PM BST.
The Riverside Medical Practice on Smithfield Road, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski is to meet with health chiefs in a bid to help save a medical practice facing potential demolition under £150 million plans to build a new shopping complex in the town.
The Riverside Medical Practice in Smithfield Road, which has around 11,500 patients, is due to be knocked down in 18 months.
If the plans go ahead it would make way for the planned New Riverside shopping centre, which would link up Shrewsbury’s current three malls into one giant complex.
As well as the potential threat from the development, the surgery has also been judged to be too small by the Shropshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) due to the number of patients it deals with.
But a campaign has now started to save the it and Tory MP Mr Kawczynski has met with staff and patients to discuss the issue.
He has requested a meeting with Shropshire PCT’s chief executive Dr Leigh Griffin to raise concerns about the future of the practice.
“This is a very important facility in the heart of Shrewsbury,” Mr Kawczynski said.
“Budgets are very, very tight, we know, but on the other hand, they cannot – if this project is going to go ahead – allow such an important facility to be liquidated without it having somewhere else to go.
“When I meet the PCT I will be very interested in hearing what their responses are to these very important questions.”
Colin Pope, chairman of the Riverside Patients Support Group, said it was vital a new town centre location was found for the practice, rather than the PCT finding a less central location where rents would be lower.
“Riverside is a huge practice at the centre of the town community.
“It needs a secure future in a fit-for-purpose town centre building. Even the PCT agrees that the existing one is too small for the number of patients,” he said.
“The last few years have been unsettling for us all doctors, staff and patients – not knowing what will happen to the surgery.
“A lot of people rely upon the practice being within walking distance because they have no transport.”
By Chris Burn
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Does the Health Authority really have an obligation to rehouse a practice that has made itself ‘intentionally homeless’ by selling its surgery building?
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There are different rules for businesses and housing benefit claimants.
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This practice has effectively been squatting for the last 2 years and needs to move and reorganise itself.
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In the report the PCT describe the practice as “too small” whereas the Chair of the Patients Support Group describes it as “a huge practice”. One must be over egging the pudding.
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Regardless of whether it is too big or small they need to find a new central medical practice for existing and new town centre residents. Many people who don’t live in the centre forget that it does have its own residents – its not just a load of pretty shops and buildings!
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Nicely put.. Many of us live in the town centre.
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Agreed-and many of us don’t have any private transport, so need to be able to walk to a surgery. I’m lucky-I’m relatively fit and young and can walk a reasonable distance even when I’m ill to some extent, but I have plenty of neighbours who aren’t so fortunate.
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I don’t know how any Conservative can talk about protecting the health service when their party seems so keen on destroying it.
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Its a bandwagon which Kawczynski is all to quick to jump on.
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Well said.
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simpley MUST have a gp in town centre, not acceptable to not have one, sort out the rent amongst yourselves but you have to have a gp in the centre
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This new development cant be stopped for the sake of a medical practice !
the riverside needs to be opened up and more used than it is.
I thought this surgery was moving to the new development at barker street ?
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If/when the practice has to move, Barker Street may well be an ideal place for the practice to be moved to, with the the possibility that the practice may be moved into a big building(?)
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Surley there will be enough space there as it will be three levels high… room for apartments/shops and offices ! the ideal location to move the surgery to.
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GPs either own their onw premises or they rent from the PCT (I don’t know but suspect this one owns it). Either way they get enormous allowances from the PCT. Its upto the practice to find new premises which are suitable for its patients. This has been going on for years – way before the recent redevelopment was announed. If they were go-ahead they’d negotiate some new state of the art premises within the new development, and seek to expand the services they offer to the public.
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