2,000 patients 'could be left without a GP' after Shrewsbury practice closes
Campaigners fighting the closure of a Shrewsbury medical practice which has 4,000 patients say they are concerned up to half of them will be left without a doctor when it closes.
Whitehall Medical Practice is due to close at the end of September. It comes after Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group said it had failed to find a new provider to take on the running of the centre after its contract with Malling Health ends on September 27.
Now campaigners say they fear up to 2,000 patients could be left without a registered GP when the centre closes.
They are urging people to attend two meetings to discuss the closure.
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The first is a meeting of Shropshire Council’s health and adult social care overview and scrutiny committee on Friday at Shirehall.
The meeting will receive an update on the closure to be discussed by councillors.
And a public meeting will be held at Crowmoor Baptist Church in the town on September 9, at 7pm, giving patients the chance to have their say.
Compounded
Councillor David Vasmer, who is helping lead the campaign, said: “I am very concerned about the number of patients that have still not registered with another practice.
“That means by the time Whitehall closes at the end of September there could be over 2,000 still not registered.
“I cannot see how the CCG are going to be able to register such a large number with other practices overnight.”
He added: “At our last public meeting patients registered with other GP practices in Shrewsbury raised their concern about the impact that an influx of patients from Whitehall could have on the services at their own very busy practices.
“A problem that will be compounded by the growing number of new residents in housing developments like Weir Hill who will also be looking to register with an existing GP practice.
“Waiting times for a GP appointment are not as bad as in other parts of the country at the moment but, with the closure of Whitehall and the town’s rapidly growing population, waiting times could climb quickly.”
