Express & Star

Public meeting over future of Tettenhall GP surgery

Protesters battling to save a busy GP surgery in Wolverhampton from closure are appealing for as many people as possible to come along and support them at a public meeting.

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Tettenhall Medical Practice

Tettenhall Medical Practice announced in May that it was planning to shut its premises in Wood Road in order to combine services with its other practice in Lower Street.

The proposals have sparked a flood of protest from people who use the surgery regularly and say the cutbacks will mean having to travel further as well as increased difficulty in getting appointments.

Village councillors have organised an online petition and a public meeting has been arranged for Thursday.

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The meeting, which will be chaired by MP Eleanor Smith, will be held at Christ Church, Church Road, at 7.30pm.

A public consultation into the closure proposals is also currently running until July 28, giving people the chance to have their say on the plans.

Councillor Sohail Khan said: “Losing this vital service will affect so many people – the old, disabled, single parents, working parents, busy people and all the local residents near Lower Green.

“In total we are talking about around 4,000 people. I would urge anyone who hasn’t already done so to sign the online petition which can be found on ipetitions.com.

There is also further information available on Twitter at #SaveWoodRdSurgery.

“I would also ask as many people as possible to show their support at the meeting next Thursday.

“It is absolutely essential that we keep keep a surgery open within easy reach of the citizens of Tettenhall Wood – many of whom rely on public transport or walking in order to access medical services,” he added.

“There is an ongoing expansion of retirement accommodation in the area and the elderly population is increasing all the time, so this is becoming ever more important as every day goes by.

“As much as we are aware of the shortage in GPs, every effort should be made to recruit new doctors for the surgery and in the meantime it should be kept open with a skeleton staff.

“People have generally always been very happy with the services provided at Tettenhall Wood and just can’t see that an equivalent service could be provided by having just one surgery at Lower Green, which would involve seeing around 12,000 patients,” he said.

Sarah Pritchard, who lives near Tettenhall and has visited the surgery on numerous occasions, said: “This is really bad news for everyone in the area, but I feel especially sorry for the many elderly folk who rely on having this facility close at hand.

“I know a lot of people are unable to walk long distances so it is vital all the residents work together with the local community to keep it open. A lot of people were devastated when they heard the news.

“Of course people understand that budgeting is always tight and services need to save money, but if this surgery closes it will have a very bad effect on the day-to-day lives of its patients. There’s only so much cutting back that can be done before we are left with nothing.”

Councillors in Tettenhall met with health bosses from Wolverhampton’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) last month to explore possible options for keeping the Wood Road premises open. However, a final decision on the plans is not expected until later in the summer.

Residents can also have their say through the public consultation at www.tettenhallmedicalpractice.nhs.uk/proposed-branch-closure

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