Katesgrove Green councillor Kate Nikulina has raised concerns about the impact of the proposed closure of a local doctors’ surgery
The University Medical Group is running a patient consultation exercise throughout August and September 2024 about the proposal to close its GP practice at Whitley Villa, 1 Christchurch Road, from the start of January 2025.
Councillor Kate Nikulina (Green Party, Katesgrove Ward) said: “Green councillors are concerned about this doctors’ surgery closing. It provides a vital service to the community. We appreciate the need to be efficient but we think more consideration needs to be given to keeping the surgery open and improving it. Otherwise, if it closes, some people will have to travel further to access a doctor. If residents choose to change to a closer surgery, it will put more pressure on doctors there, meaning longer waiting times. We urge residents to respond to this consultation.
“Everyone knows we’ve struggled through years of cuts and austerity under the last government, and of course we’re worried there will be more to come under this one. Nationally the Green Party have called for huge investment in our NHS to provide better access to GPs and locally we’ve campaigned for years for better access to NHS dentists, so to see a surgery closing is a real shame.”
The consultation ends at the end of September 2024.