Dear Dr. Harding and Mr. Finegan,
We are writing to express our opposition to NHS England’s plans to close down Finch Rd Surgery imminently. From our reach and following within the area, we firmly conclude patients and local community do not want to see this health provision ended.
There is clear dissatisfaction of Virgin healthcare’s failures on patient experience and fulfilling promises it made when it took on the contract for the Surgery, but at our open meeting in the community last month NHS England representatives failed to explain inaction on their part over the past 2 years to monitor and enforce the contract.
We are very disappointed any consultation about the future of the practice was left to the last minute weeks before contract was due to end.
Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust in 2009 opened the Finch Rd Primary Care Centre as part of its then ‘Towards 2010′ plans (now called Right Care Right Here). It received grant funding (£50,000 from Lozells & East Handsworth Neighbourhood Renewal Fund) and backing (in acquiring the land from Leisure) from elected members to complete the build.
Soon after in 2010, under the ‘Darzi programme’ it commissioned Finch Rd Surgery to offer extended opening hours access to a GP. During its public consultation exercise, the PCT scaled down its plans from a Walk-in centre in the building to a GP surgery to the dismay of the local community.
And now its successors, NHS England have decided to withdraw this provision as an easy bureaucratic choice without considering fully current need analysis.
With little confidence in whether the best options are being considered, as primary stakeholders we have independently explored options by consulting with our local GP alliance, namely ICOF.
We fully support their offer to take over the running of Finch Rd Surgery with no disruption to patients. We have worked with ICOF GP practices over a number of years on a range of health issues and they enjoy a high degree of community trust.
We are hence calling on Sandwell & West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group to keep Finch Rd Surgery open and go further to turn it into the Walk-in service as originally proposed.
For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE JP – Lozells & East Handsworth Ward
Councillor Mahmood Hussain – Lozells & East Handsworth Ward
Councillor Hendrina Quinnen – Lozells & East Handsworth Ward
