Dr Murray gave an overview of the report saying the current contract at the Wilson site had been extended three times and was more expensive than a typical contract. They have spoken to other GP practices in the local area who have agreed to take on extra patients. NHS England has provided resilience funding of £100,000 which will provide a package of support to the most vulnerable patients. Dr Murray also reported that the Wilson Centre does not meet the requirements of an urgent care centre which should carry out a range of procedures including blood tests.

Additional NHS England funding will support improvements in GP Practices, Merton Clinical Commissioning Group (MCCG)  will receive £1 million per year over two years.

A panel member said she was concerned about putting additional pressure on GP services as she currently has to wait two weeks for an appointment. Dr Murray said funding will support GP services and mean they will have more time for patients.

A panel member highlighted that the West of the borough has two state of the art clinics, yet life expectancy is much lower in the East of the borough and therefore should be a priority. Dr Murray said a decision was taken a few years ago to develop the Nelson. The Health and Wellbeing Model for East Merton will help to address the differences in life expectancy.

A panel member said the human cost of closing the Wilson site has not been taken into consideration as people over 65 will have to get two buses to the surgery. Consideration should be given to moving the GP practice into the Wilson hospital. Dr Murray said the Wilson doesn’t have suitable space for a GP practice. There will be a double bus journey for some people as registered patients are from a wide area across Merton and Sutton.

A panel member asked if a phased approach to closing the GP practice was considered. Dr Murray said the logistics and costs would make this prohibitive.

A panel member asked if there had been an application for planning permission for the new Wilson site. Dr Murray reported that the plans are not sufficiently developed. The focus is on the model of care rather than the buildings. At a recent public meeting it was thought that an application had been submitted. As this was not the case, a letter of apology was sent to the Leader of the Council to explain the error.

A panel member asked if sufficient notice was given about the closure of the Wilson walk in centre. The Programme Director of Financial Recovery and Acting Director of Commissioning Operations said a process was followed and the first notification was given at the beginning of December. Dr Murray added that he accepted it is a major upheaval for people.

A panel member highlighted that in their view, most GP practices in East Merton are under pressure and therefore it is difficult to believe that additional patients will be able to find space at a new local surgery. The Programme Director of Financial Recovery and Acting Director of Commissioning Operations said MCCG will be reminding practices of their responsibilities and will address complaints. MCCG have been working with practices to ensure they have extra capacity.

A panel member asked how much money will be saved by the changes. Dr Murray reported that there will be no savings all monies will be re-invested in the service as the money follows the patient.

A panel member expressed concern about the extravagant costs charged by  developers for new buildings. Dr Murray reported that this is not a Private Finance Initiative scheme. Monies come from a Community NHS Finance Partnership therefore rents will be affordable and the interest will not be extortionate.

A panel member expressed concern that vulnerable patients and the 15-44 age group may not register with a new GP. The panel were informed that MCCG will be working with the practices to track vulnerable patients.

A panel member felt that local people will consider the reputation of the surgery  when making a decision about where to register and this needs to be addressed as patients are being dispersed.  The Programme Director of Financial Recovery and Acting Director of Commissioning Operations reported that they are working with practices to raise standards for all surgeries. There is a work strand addressing this, clinical leads have visited every practice to give advice and best practice is being shared.

A panel member asked if there will be more GPs or longer waiting times as a result of the changes. The Programme Director of Financial Recovery and Acting Director of Commissioning Operations said MCCG will be looking at other models of care such as more nurses, telephone appointments, Skype and encouraging GP practices to work together. The new money will be invested in clinicians.

A panel member pointed out that it is important to focus on the whole of Merton rather than just the East or the West of the borough

RESOLVED

Officers were thanked for attending to present the report.

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