Evington Village in Decline – Sucking the Heart Out of a Community
Evington Village in Decline-Sucking the Heart Out of a Community
“Welcome to J & A Pharmacy – your trusted pharmacy and health establishment in the heart of Evington, Leicester. Our store is conveniently located at 19-21 Main St, and we are proud to serve our community with a wide range of pharmacy and medical supplies.” This statement can be found on Guidebiz.com and is about to become part of history as the store relocates to Welland Vale Road in a cost cutting manoeuvre. The Post office is also destined to close and relocate there on 9th December [Leicester Post Office set to move to new location}. The loss of the pharmacy AND the post office will impact many in and around Evington Village.
To add insult to injury, and further decimate the essential services to the Evington Village area, the GP Partnership at St Elizabeth’s Medical Centre are proposing to close The Common GP surgery.
Again this is a cost cutting exercise put forward under the cloak of Dr Wood wishing to sell the premises and the Partnership (GPs are small businesses paid fees by the NHS)concluding that ‘the building and plot are in need of refurbishment, too small for re-modelling and unfit to delivery modern general practice services from, which means it is not a viable option for the Partners of St Elizabeth Medical Centre to purchase’.
Having used this surgery since 2015 I have built up a respect for it as an efficient, effective and accessible GP surgery. In terms of appointments, consultations and treatments I have always been pleased with the service. It has a calm, quiet and comfortable atmosphere, conducive to dealing with patients. The reception, GP and Nursing service offered is of a consistent high standard. The Care Quality Commission rates the surgery as ‘Good’.
The public consultation conducted into the matter (Summary Engagement Report) elicited a meagre 84 responses which does not appear to be representative of the practice list. However, 51% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the proposal to close the surgery. This ‘engagement started from the premise that it was a ‘proposal to close’ the branch surgery, suggesting a preordained outcome. Thus, the consultation may well be in breach of fair consultation principles.
In addition, the consultation did not consider exploring any other options other than closure, with patients either agreeing to use St Elizabeth’s Medical Centre or finding a new GP practice elsewhere.
Other options may include:
- a) for the GP partnership to purchase the building and seek funding to refurbish it.
- b) for the GP partnership and the Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board to jointly purchase the building and refurbish it.
- c) to seek a buyer who will refurbish it and lease the building back to the GP Partnership,
- d) to look at the possibility of setting up a Community Interest Company to purchase and refurbish the building.
- e) application to the Community Ownership Fund* (NB: Capital funding available:Up to £2 million for all asset types, but it is expected that most awards will be for up to £250,000 of capital funding.)
- d) A community buy out.
Time is precious in this regard as it seems the minimalistic approach to consultation which is certainly only a gesture at best, has already swayed the day. The consultation to date has merely been a paying of lip service.
If you disagree with the closure of the Common Surgery write to the Practice:
The GP Partnership
St Elizabeth’s Medical Centre
Netherhall Road
Leicester
LE5 1DR and
NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Room G30, Pen Lloyd Building
County Hall, Glenfield
Leicester, LE3 8TB and
Your local MP
John Alexander McFadyen
*The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million UK Government fund to support community groups across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community.
