Telford walk-in surgery which is set for closure 'needs improving'

The Care Quality Commission gave the rating to Malling Health Wrekin, which is situated next to the town's Princess Royal Hospital, in its report published yesterday.

The surgery has been rated as requiring improvement in four out of five areas, including whether all services are safe, whether services are effective, whether services are caring and whether services are well-led.

Following the report, the surgery has been told to review the significant event process to ensure that information is shared by all relevant staff and to check that agreed actions have taken place, implement a new system for alerts to ensure they have been actioned, and ensure that patient group directions are completed and authorised for the nursing staff before medicines are given to patients.

Read the full CQC report on Malling Health Wrekin

It must also ensure that the physical and mental health of all newly appointed staff is considered to ensure they are suitable to carry out the requirements of the role, review its clinical capacity to ensure that planned work can be accommodated and formulate an action plan to address below average feedback from the GP national patient survey. Malling Health Wrekin walk-in centre, based next to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, will close in July after Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) decided not to renew its contract.

As well as the walk-in facility, the centre has 8,000 patients on its books that will now have to transfer to another GP.

Health bosses said there are staffing issues, including a heavy reliance on locum GPs, and £500,000 would have to be spent on the ageing demountable building where it is based.

But there has been some upset to the decision.

Karen Roper, Wellington Town Council's clerk, said councillors had expressed their "utter dismay" at the decision during a recent meeting.

She said: "Malling Health Wrekin currently provides a GP service and has 8,000 registered patients, however this number does not take into account the many walk-in patients.

"Members of Wellington Town Council report they are being contacted by members of the public who are distressed, worried, concerned and feel absolutely let down by this decision.

"Some have been proactive and report they have tried to find nearby GP practices with space to take them on, but they are being told that they are full and not taking on new patients.

"Wellington health services are at breaking point, yet we are encouraged to approve the building of many new homes with no satisfactory health services to support them."

Telford & Wrekin council leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, had also called for people to come forward with their views.

Nobody from the surgery was available for comment.