Futures Forum: Stowford Lodge Health Centre: the background
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There will be an open meeting for all Sidmouth residents, organised by the
Patients Forum on Wednesday 30th October, with an opportunity to see the latest plans.
Details have not yet been finalised - but will follow.
There is some disquiet, however:
1. Given a choice, large numbers of residents would still prefer the
main Medical Centre to be in the centre of town. [see letter below]
2. There had been the alternative choice of expanding the Centre on the current site, with hopes of cooperating with the County Council on refurbishment projects for the adjacent Library. [see Sid Valley Practice notes below]
3. The computer images give the proposed new building the appearance of a
1960s office block. [see Herald article above] And yet new NHS financed GP surgeries can look
inviting..... e.g. the relatively new Surgery in Lyme:
Lyme Regis Medical Centre - Welcome
From the letters page of the Herald this week:
Access is vital
Access is vital
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Regarding the new
health centre at Stowford Lodge, featured in the Sidmouth
Herald this week, in which inaccessibility was not mentioned.
The present proposal does not fulfil this
requirement.I accept the need for a more up-to-date centre, but surely the
first consideration, even before seeking planning permission, should be its
accessibility to the majority of patients to be served from Sidford and
Sidbury, who are currently registered at the Sidford practice.
There is no direct bus service, so how are patients
who are either very sick, 80-90 years of age, pregnant mothers unable to drive,
to mention a few, going to overcome this problem?
The long steep walk to Stowford is impossible,
particularly in winter when darkness falls early and sections of the A3052 do
not have a pavement.
It is impractical to suggest that Sidford/Sidbury
patients should register at the town practice because of the weight of numbers.
Neither is suggesting the use of a taxi, for financial
reasons.
Before going any further, we must have a
straightforward answer to this question which will suit the majority of
patients affected by the proposed closure of the Sidford practice.
Perhaps the free hopper bus run for the benefit of
holidaymakers could be switched for the free use of patients?
Marjorie How
Sid Vale Close
And from the Health Centre:
Patient Feedback
- Stowford
The Strategic
Development Team, NHS Devon, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX24QL.
Telephone/Text:
07855422713
We will respond to you and will also include any new
questions raised and our answers on this website.
An Overview of the
Proposal
The practice has a unique opportunity to resolve a
number of longstanding problems arising from the limited space available to
them. There is now a very real possibility to purchase the Stowford Lodge
site for a new surgery. This would offer greater space, flexibility and
clinic capacity. This development would mean the Sidford
surgery would no longer be required and there would be two surgeries
in the valley in future – the New Stowford surgery and Blackmore Health Centre.
In September it will be necessary to progress beyond
the current preparatory phase, and therefore the practice has been
sharing information and discussing this proposal to help people understand the
reasoning and to identify views and concerns so that wherever possible these
can be addressed. This is an excellent opportunity for medical services
in the Sid Valley and we hope our proposed way to solve the longstanding space
problems will be supported.
Questions and Answers
Why is this necessary?
Whose idea is it?
Is it to save money?
Can money from
developers be used to help this plan?
What other options
have been considered?
Each of these options has been vigorously pursued but
each one has either proved impossible to deliver, or has not had the potential
to give us the accommodation that we need.
Can there be 3
surgeries?
What about geography?
Why can’t we expand
the Sidford Surgery?
What happens to the
money paid for Stowford?
Who owns the Sidford
surgery?
Who will fund this
move and rebuild?
Do you plan to knock
down the current Stowford building?
Who will own the
buildings? Will the GPs make money? Who will pay?
Has the Sidford
building been sold already?
Will improvement work
be done to the Sidmouth Health Centre to match the standards and comforts of a
new building?
What negotiation has
happened with the bus company? Is the council aware and helping?
Is this all agreed and
no change possible?
What is the timescale?
What will be the
parking situation?
What is the future of
pharmacy services?
How will people be
able to access repeat prescriptions?
Will people be able to
see their own GP?
Will the proposed new
surgery in Sidmouth have adequate parking space for the increased number of
patients attending by car?
If public transport is
used to attend from Sidbury, how long will it take to reach the proposed new
surgery?
Are there convenient
bus stops for coming and going from the surgery to Sidbury?
How frequent are the
buses?
How far from the
proposed new surgery is the nearest pharmacy?
What is wrong with the
existing surgery?
What extra treatments
will be provided at the new proposed surgery? – e.g. x-rays, consultant suites
etc.
Will the need to
attend the RD&E for consultant investigations be eliminated?
What will it cost to
remove the present surgery premises? (please give exact figures)
How much will the new
premises cost?
Will the annual
council tax be increase – if so, by how much? (give cost per band per annum)
Thank you.
.
Patient Feedback
- Stowford
We have been recording the concerns and questions that
have been raised at the drop in sessions and at the public meeting as well as
those sent to us by email and post.
A list of the key questions raised, along with
our initial response to these is published below. We will add to this
question and answer list as we receive more feedback.
If you wish to comment in any way you are welcome to
contact us through the following routes:
The Strategic
Development Team, NHS Devon, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX24QL.
Telephone/Text:
07855422713
We will respond to you and will also include any new
questions raised and our answers on this website.
An Overview of the
Proposal
The practice has a unique opportunity to resolve a
number of longstanding problems arising from the limited space available to
them. There is now a very real possibility to purchase the Stowford Lodge
site for a new surgery. This would offer greater space, flexibility and
clinic capacity. This development would mean the Sidford
surgery would no longer be required and there would be two surgeries
in the valley in future – the New Stowford surgery and Blackmore Health Centre.
In September it will be necessary to progress beyond
the current preparatory phase, and therefore the practice has been
sharing information and discussing this proposal to help people understand the
reasoning and to identify views and concerns so that wherever possible these
can be addressed. This is an excellent opportunity for medical services
in the Sid Valley and we hope our proposed way to solve the longstanding space
problems will be supported.
Questions and Answers
Why is this necessary?
The current premises available to the practice are
equivalent to approximately 55-60% of the space needed to provide services to
the practice population. We have explored many possibilities to address this
problem but until now have been unable to come up with a suitable scheme. This
may be our only chance to do this and make the improvements we want to make for
our patient population.
Whose idea is it?
This is the GPs’ idea. We are supported in this by the
Primary Care Trust and the Patient Participation Group.
Is it to save money?
No it is not to save money, it is to improve services
for our patients. The scheme will cost the Primary Care Trust money, but the
PCT has been trying to support us to achieve better facilities for the Sid
Valley for some years.
Can money from
developers be used to help this plan?
We have asked the council about this, and we have been
told that this is not at the moment possible.
What other options
have been considered?
We have considered many other options:
1. A development on the Sidmouth Rugby Club ground
2. A development on the site of the old Fortfield
Hotel
3. Redevelopment of the current site either including
the library or with the library moving to another site.
4. Increasing the size of the current Sidford surgery.
5. Moving the Health Centre to another site in the
town
Each of these options has been vigorously pursued but
each one has either proved impossible to deliver, or has not had the potential
to give us the accommodation that we need.
Can there be 3
surgeries?
The population size does not warrant three
surgeries. It is important that any scheme we propose is viable and
sustainable. We would not be able to run 3 surgeries because of the
duplication of staff functions that would be required. In any case the
additional finance that will be made available to us gives the opportunity to
increase our facilities but not to run three surgeries.
What about geography?
Wherever we site our surgeries there will be
some people who can walk to them and some who cannot. The new surgery is sited
near a lot of new housing development and also near to a lot of elderly people.
Why can’t we expand
the Sidford Surgery?
We have looked at this but even the maximum expansion
that we could achieve would still leave us with inadequate capacity both now
and in the future. Green Close has been mentioned but this is not available for
us to use. We believe the Stowford site is the best opportunity.
What happens to the
money paid for Stowford?
This money is paid to the Devon Partnership Trust who
presently own the Stowford site.
Who owns the Sidford
surgery?
The GPs own the Sidford surgery.
Who will fund this
move and rebuild?
The Primary Care Trust will provide the additional
funding required to achieve this.
Do you plan to knock
down the current Stowford building?
The decision on this has not been made. We probably
would should this scheme go ahead, but since the final decision to pursue this
has not yet been made the details are still being discussed.
Who will own the
buildings? Will the GPs make money? Who will pay?
The GPs will own the building. The Primary Care Trust
pays GPs to provide premises fit for the delivery of primary care services.
That payment funds schemes like this. It is possible that some of the GPs may
make a profit from this but there is no certainty.
Has the Sidford
building been sold already?
No it has not and we have no idea at present who, if
anyone, may buy it.
Will improvement work
be done to the Sidmouth Health Centre to match the standards and comforts of a
new building?
We would certainly hope to be able to do this, but it
would depend what money was available.
What negotiation has
happened with the bus company? Is the council aware and helping?
We have asked the bus company about possible
adjustment of their routes and timetables. The council is aware of this and is
being helpful. It will be some time before the new surgery
would be established and this means we have the opportunity to explore the
possibilities further.
Is this all agreed and
no change possible?
No this is not all decided. The decision to go ahead
or not is dependent on a number of factors including the evidence of need,
meeting the required standards, and of course the feedback from patients.
There do not have to be detailed plans approved before the decision to go ahead
is made. A number of parties are involved: Devon Partnership Trust (the
owners of the site), the practice and the Primary Care Trust. The Primary
Care Trust will make the decision about whether the scheme will be funded and
supported to go ahead.
What is the timescale?
The Sidford surgery would continue to function until the
new surgery actually opens. If the scheme goes ahead we would hope to start
building by March 2013 and to be working in the new building one year later.
What will be the
parking situation?
We are aware of the parking problems at Sidmouth
Health Centre. The car park is owned by the council and serves the library as
well as the health centre. It is too an early stage in this project to be
definite about the car parking at Stowford. We hope there would be
sufficient parking and certainly hope to ensure that there is a drop off point
for patients right at the door which would be an improvement on what is
currently available either in Sidford or at the Sidmouth Health Centre.
What is the future of
pharmacy services?
The practice cannot comment on the decisions
pharmacists may make. We hope that there will be a pharmacy at the new surgery.
The Primary Care Trust makes the decisions about the opening of a new
pharmacy through a formal applications process.
How will people be
able to access repeat prescriptions?
We try to make repeat prescription access as
convenient as possible for patients. We have a number of mechanisms in
co-operation with the local pharmacies and that patients can access. We will
always welcome suggestions from patients or carers about how we can improve
these.
Will people be able to
see their own GP?
We agree that continuity and access to your own GP is
very important. We will continue to seek to promote this. We would certainly
try to ensure equal access to female GPs at both sites.
Patients would have choice on where they register.
This will be easier to deliver if this scheme goes ahead since at present the
capacity at Sidford is overstretched and it is hard to give patients that
choice.
Will the proposed new
surgery in Sidmouth have adequate parking space for the increased number of
patients attending by car?
A major consideration for the development of the site
is for the provision of adequate parking. We are aware of the need to provide
as much parking as possible
If public transport is
used to attend from Sidbury, how long will it take to reach the proposed new
surgery?
The partners cannot yet tell you how long it will take
to reach the proposed new surgery from Sidbury. They are negotiating with
transport providers about possibly changing the current bus routes to make
travel to and from the proposed site more convenient.
Are there convenient
bus stops for coming and going from the surgery to Sidbury?
Part of our negotiation about improving the bus
services is the establishing of convenient bus stops for coming and going to
the surgery from Sidbury. There are several bus stops in Sidbury at present and
there is a bus stop adjacent to the site of the proposed new surgery.
How frequent are the
buses?
The current service X53 along the A3052 is
hourly. However, as already mentioned, the partners are continuing in
negotiation with transport providers.
How far from the
proposed new surgery is the nearest pharmacy?
There may be a pharmacy on site at the new surgery
What is wrong with the
existing surgery?
The only problem with Sidford surgery is that it is
not large enough to provide the capacity is needed to provide services to Sid
Valley patients. Even if the surgery is expanded to the limit of the land that
is available, it would still not have the capacity to provide the facilities
that the growing and increasingly aging population of Sidmouth needs.
What extra treatments
will be provided at the new proposed surgery? – e.g. x-rays, consultant suites
etc.
There are no plans to provide any specific extra
treatments at the new surgery. There would be consulting rooms that could be
used by hospital consultants, Community Psychiatric nurses, Social services and
others. There would also be a properly designed and equipped minor surgery
suite allowing more surgery in Sidmouth. However the main benefit will be that
there would be enough space for the surgery staff to give the best possible
service to patients.
Will the need to
attend the RD&E for consultant investigations be eliminated?
The need to attend the R.D. and E for consultant
investigation will not be eliminated, though the partners are planning for it
to be reduced by arranging for some consultant sessions at the surgery.
What will it cost to
remove the present surgery premises? (please give exact figures)
Any cost of removing the present surgery premises will
be borne by the GPs
How much will the new
premises cost?
AND
How much will the
proposed new project cost? (e.g. surveyors, architects, planners etc.)
The cost of the proposed new project includes the cost
of the premises. It is not possible to give an exact figure at the moment but
it is in the region of £2,300,000
Will the annual
council tax be increase – if so, by how much? (give cost per band per annum)
The annual council tax will not be increased at all
since the District Council would not contribute in any way to the project
costs.
Thank you.
The doctors at Sid
Valley Medical practice.
.
.
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