Consultation on the closure of Credenhill Surgery

Response to Credenhill Parish Council’s letter to HMG following ongoing closure of Credenhill Surgery:

Thank you for your letter dated 22nd November 2023 in relation to the Hereford Medical Group (HMG) branch surgery at Credenhill. Your letter is timely as we have recently been reviewing the options in relation to the branch site at Credenhill.
You will, no doubt, be aware of the history of the site at Credenhill which was formerly a branch surgery of Quay House Medical Centre and up until the pandemic, operated for 5 half days per week. As part of the review, we have considered the viability of the branch surgery and have concluded that we must commence a consultation on the closure of the branch surgery with patients and stakeholders. In making this decision, we have considered the following:

The premises is not fit for purpose –
o it is a remote one consulting room and one nurse treatment room premises which is a converted shop unit. All other HMG premises are purpose built.
o The clinical environment needs significant investment to bring it up to modern standards.
– Whilst it is currently being used for storage of patient records, the fact that the premises is not accessible to the community is an issue which needs to be resolved.
– The surgery does not meet disability access requirements and there are limited options to change this.
– It is potentially safety risk having unwell patients at a remote site
– There is no dispensary at the site.
– To keep it open would result in a reduction in service at other sites.

I would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that there are no plans to change the boundary for HMG and all patients registered with the practice will continue to be able to access healthcare at our other sites.
The consultation that we have launched today will run until 24th December 2023, following which we will review the responses and finalise any decision. If the Practice concludes to proceed with closure, then a formal application will be made to the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (HWICB).
The consultation will be available online at: https://forms.office.com/r/SZrdPjexAs or using the QR code below:

This information will be available on our website and on our social media pages. In addition, along with this letter to the Parish Council, we will be writing to the council, MPs and other local stakeholders. Paper copies of the consultation survey will also be available at all of our other sites. We are also hoping that the Credenhill Community News will publish details of the consultation.
I note from your correspondence, along with a second letter from the pharmacist based at Kington, that there might be some interest in a change of use. In this regard I will be writing to the pharmacist to explain how this might proceed. However, I would note that it is not within our gift to authorise any such application which would need to be made initially to the ICB.
In relation to the development of a new site at Credenhill, this is something which would need wider system involvement as whilst s106 monies might be made available, these only contribute towards capital costs with ongoing costs being picked up via HWICB.
I hope that this letter provides sufficient information to the Parish Council and assurance that we are keen to progress with plans to ensure that the premises is brought back in to community use. I look forward to receiving any comments as part of the consultation, but if there are any further questions then please do not hesitate to contact me.